
Class __i£M2. 

Book_3-^^ 



Copyright )^^. 



CDROUGHT DEPOSrr. 



EQUITATION 



EQUITATION 



BY 

H. L. DE BUSSIGNY 



WITH ILLUSTRATIONS 




BOSTON AND NEW YORK 

HOUGHTON MIFFLIN COMPANY 
1922 



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COPYRIGHT, 1922, BY CAROLINE A. DE BUSSIGNY 
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED 



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^f)e i&ibertiitic l^xta 

CAMBRIDGE • MASSACHUSETTS 
PRINTED IN THE U.S.A. 



m 17i922 



©CI.AB74R17 



To the public and to my pupils interested in 
equitation and to those most especially whose 
interest and generosity have made it possible 
for me to complete this work. 

H. L. DE BUSSIGNY 



PREFACE 

For seventy-six years, as cavalier, as student, as 
instructor, I have ridden, under every sort of con- 
ditions, horses of every type, every conformation, 
and every breeding. 

My first experiment, at the age of five, was with 
a donkey, young and entirely unbroken. At the be- 
ginning, I was more often on the ground than on 
the donkey's back; but after six months of perse- 
verance, all its gambols failed to unseat me. At 
eight years, I had a pony, thirteen and a half hands 
high; and I received instruction from the Comte 
d'Aure, Esquire-in-Chief of the cavalry school. 
This Grand Master was always repeating, "Seat. 
Seat. It is the sine qua non. Be a cavalier first. 
Afterwards it will be possible, with study, to be- 
come an esquire." 

From eight to seventeen, I practiced the pre- 
cepts of Comte d'Aure in various riding-schools. 
At seventeen, I entered the French cavalry. I was 
at the battle of Solferino in 1859. In i860, I was 
fighting in Syria; and in 1861, in Morocco. From 
1862 to 1867, I was with Maximilian in Mexico. 
The next year saw me in Algeria and the Sahara 
Desert, fighting the Kabyles and Bedouins. In 
1870 came the Franco-German War; and I fought 
the Prussian Uhlans. 

vii 



PREFACE 

It was when hunting and fighting other men, 
hunted and fought by other men, on horseback 
night and day, that I came to reaHze the truth of 
the formula, that seat is the rider's sme qua non. 

In the army, for the cavalryman to be able to 
ride is all that the manual asks, since the discipline is 
unalterable when moving in troop. But, for the in- 
dividual, the French army protects and encourages 
studies of the different methods of the various mas- 
ters of the equestrian art. Before I entered the 
army, while still at the college, I followed a course 
of instruction under Baucher, who was then teach- 
ing in the school at Collin, Maneye du Rhone. 

Although Baucher's method was never adopted 
by the French army, his ideas have very deeply af- 
fected cavalry traditions, because of the great num- 
ber of officers who have been sent to Saumur and 
Luneville to study and report upon his system. 
Several of these officers were my instructors after I 
entered the cavalry; and my studies of the art con- 
tinued under their very able direction. 

Experiment with different methods is, however, 
nearly impossible in the army; so that it was only 
after I came to the United States in 1872, and, as a 
civilian, became proprietor of riding-schools, man- 
ager of schools and riding-clubs, head instructor 
in New York and Boston, that I was able to de- 
velop certain principles, certain means, certain ef- 
fects, which had before not been clear in my mind. 

Equitation is the sixth branch of horsemanship; 

viii 



PREFACE 

and is'divlded into military, racing, steeple-chasing, 
polo, and the promenade. Only the last of these is 
treated in this work. 

Riding is one of the most wholesome of recrea- 
tions, both for mind and body. It does, however, 
necessitate a certain special and natural aptitude. 
Anybody, reasonably well conformed morally and 
physically, can practice the ordinary equitation as 
a health-giving exercise, easy to acquire. But rid- 
ing practiced as an art or as a science offers serious 
and multiplied difficulties, in the solution of which 
by the student is found all the mental pleasure of 
the avocation. 

The two greatest masters of the art are Baucher 
and Fillis. With them, in the light of their princi- 
ples, riding has become truly an art, because these 
masters have been satisfied to set forth their prac- 
tices, without giving the reason, the wherefore, of 
the acts which they dictate. For example, the two 
effects of the rider's hand upon the lower jaw of the 
horse impel the animal to the right or to the left. 
The pressure of the rider's legs upon the horse's 
flanks gives two more sensations. Here, then, are 
four signs, by means of which the rider communi- 
cates with his mount and thereby controls its en- 
tire mechanism. These sensations, caused in a liv- 
ing animal, certainly have for it a meaning: they 
oblige certain parts to act. The rider closes his leg 
upon the horse's right flank, and the horse turns 
to the right. But what is the mechanical reason? 

ix 



PREFACE 

When each and every movement of the horse in re- 
sponse to its rider's signals is explained on mechan- 
ical principles, then equitation is no longer an art. 
It has become a science, and therefore invariable. 

The difference between my system of training 
the horse and the systems of Baucher and Fillis 
is, in part, that I have carried farther the science 
as distinguished from the art. But besides this, 
while Baucher and Fillis trained their horses for 
the sake of executing the movements of the high 
school, I employ these airs of the high school, not as 
an end in themselves, but as a means for developing 
the physical and mental qualities of the horse itself. 
These masters specially chose the animals which 
they were to train. I, by means of my system of 
gymnastics, seek to improve and develop an ani- 
mal of any original conformation that may be given 
me. 

The purposes of this manual are, therefore, to ex- 
plain the mechanical reason for every effect which 
the rider exerts on the horse, and to set forth the 
successive steps by which, practically, an actual 
animal is to be trained and developed. Underlying 
principles and theories are everywhere explained 
with the greatest possible clearness. In spite of a 
good deal of inevitable condensation, the methods 
here set forth should prove perfectly easy both to 
understand and to apply. 

H. L. DE BUSSIGNY 

Boston, May, 192 1 



CONTENTS 

PART I 
THE USUAL OR INSTINCTIVE EQUITATION 

I. Introduction 3 

II, Mount, Dismount, and Vault 7 

III. The Seat 15 

IV. The Woman Rider 30 
V. The Aids 37 

VI. The Gaits 40 

VII. Jumping 47 

PART II 

the reasoned equitation : the training of the saddle- 
horse BY THE aid of PRINCIPLES BASED ON THE EXPERIENCE 
OF MASTERS OF THE ART OF RIDING 

VIII. The Reasoned Equitation 55 

IX. Breaking in 58 

X. Rewards and Punishments 67 

XI. The First Work on Foot 70 

XII. The Flexions 74 

XIII. Backing and the Pirouettes 86 

XIV. The Handling of the Reins 94 

XV. The First Work Mounted: The Hands and 

THE Aids 106 

XVI. The Legs and their Effects hi 

XVII. The Spurs and their Effects 119 

XVIII. Mobilizations Mounted 140 

xi 



CONTENTS 

XIX. The Flexions Mounted 149 

XX. Placing the Horse and the Varla.nts 

FROM the "In Hand" 160 

XXI. The Assemblage 180 

PART III 
the scientific equitation 

XXII. The Diagonal Effect 189 

XXIII. The Figures of Manege 201 

XXIV. My own System 235 
XXV. The Jambettes 245 

XXVI. The Spanish Walk 252 

XXVII. The Spanish and the Flying Trot 261 

XXVIII. The Piaffer 269 

XXIX. The Passage 284 

XXX. The Passage Backward 296 

XXXI. Hands without Legs: Legs without 

Hands 308 

PART IV 
the defenses of the horse and their correction 

XXXII. The Defenses of the Horse and their 

Correction 313 

APPENDIX 

Report of a Commission of Three Officers of 
the United States Army on the de Bussigny 
[ System - 363 



ILLUSTRATIONS 

The Author Mounted on "Why-Not" at the 
Beginning of his Training Frontispiece 

FIGURES IN HALF-TONE 

Facing 

1. The Horse sees and feels the Whip without 
Fear 70 

2. Contact of the Bits with the Mouth by the 
Whip on the Flank 70 

3. Contact of the Bits with the Mouth by the 
Whip on the Chest 71 

4. Flexion for bringing up the Head and Neck 
and making the Horse Light 80 

5. The Horse Light in Hand 80 

6. Flexion of the Lower Jaw to the Right by the 
Curb Bit 81 

7. Completion of the Direct Flexion 81 

8. Flexion of Neck and Lower Jaw by the Curb 
Bit 82 

9. Flexion of Neck and Mouth by the Snaffle 
Reins 82 

10. Flexion of the Lower Jaw by the Curb Bit and 

OF THE Neck by the Snaffle Reins 83 

11. Flexion of the Neck by the Snaffle and of 
THE Lower Jaw by the Curb Bit 83 

12. Direct Flexion of the Lower Jaw by the Curb 
Bit and of the Neck by the Snaffle Reins 84 

13. Direct Flexion of Neck and Lower Jaw with 
Lightness of the Front Hand 84 

xiii 



ILLUSTRATIONS 

14. Direct Flexion of Mouth and Neck by the 
Snaffle only 85 

15. Rotation of the Croup with Direct Flexion of 
Neck and Jaw 88 

16. Rotation of the Croup with Diagonal Flexion 

of Neck and Jaw 88 

17. Pirouette from Right to Left 142 

18. Rotation from Left to Right 142 

19. The Horse Straight and in Hand 150 

20. To render the Hand 158 

21. Rotation by the Diagonal Effect: The Right 
Fore Leg Flexed 194 

22. Rotation by the Diagonal Effect: The Horse 

ON Three Legs, the Right Fore Leg Extended 194 

23. The Trot 195 

24. First Stride in Change of Lead at the Gallop 195 

25. Second Stride in Change of Lead from Right 

TO Left 196 

26. Third Stride in Change of Lead from Right 

TO Left 196 

27. Jambette: Flexion of the Right Fore Leg 248 

28. Jambette: Extension of the Right Fore Leg 248 

29. Jambette: Flexion of the Right Hind Leg 249 

30. Spanish Walk: Left Diagonal 256 

31. Spanish Walk: Right Diagonal 256 

32. Spanish Trot: Right Diagonal 262 

33. Spanish Trot: Left Diagonal 262 

34. PiAFFER : Right Diagonal 272 

35. PiAFFER : Left Diagonal 272 

36. Passage: Right Diagonal 284 

37. Passage: Left Diagonal 284 

xiv 



ILLUSTRATIONS 



38. The Trot Backwards 

39. Gallop on Three Legs: Right Fore Leg Ex- 
tended 

40. Gallop on Three Legs : Left Fore Leg Ex- 
tended 

41. The Gallop Terre a Terre 

42. FiLLis at the Gallop Backward 

43. "Why-Not" at the Gallop Backward 



296 

297 

297 
302 
306 
306 



CUTS IN THE TEXT 

An Ancient Greek Rider 

Mounting: First Method 

Mounting: Second Method 

Riding in the Pillars to complete the Rider's 
Seat 

Correct Manner of Mounting for a Woman 

Correct Position of the Woman on Horseback 

Correct Position of the Woman's Legs and Arms 
when Mounted 

Amble 

Single-Foot 

First Lesson with the Longe 

The Horse, Mounted, leaps the Bar directed by 
THE Longe 

The Horse jumps the Obstacle Mounted and un- 
der Control of the Rider 

The Horse comes squarely to the Obstacle and 
JUMPS frankly 

Dumb-Jockey, used for training the Horse to ac- 
cept Contact of the Bits at the Different Gaits 

First Lesson with the Longe 

XV 



4 
7 
9 

28 
31 
35 

36 
42 

45 
47 

49 

50 

51 

60 
61 



ILLUSTRATIONS 

Lesson Mounted with the Longe 64 

Arthrology (Articulations of the Horse) 76 

Myology (Superficial Muscles) 77 

The Handling of the Reins loi 

Diagram showing how to enter the Corners 205 

Diagram of Change of Direction 209 

The Double to the Right (Diagram) 212 

Changes of Hand (Diagrams) 214 

Circle (Diagram) 216 

The Volte (Diagram) 219 

Figure 8 (Diagram) 225 

Half-Passage, Head to Wall 229 

Half-Passage, Shoulder-in 231 

Contra Change of Hand (Diagram) 233 

Head too Low 323 

Head too High 325 

Running Away 335 

The Head to Croup 339 

Punishing a Restive Horse 343 

The Buck-Jump 347 
A Restive Horse in the Incorrect Position 

called "Acculer" 352 

Rearing 353 

Kicking 357 



EQUITATION 



PART I 
THE USUAL OR INSTINCTIVE EQUITATION 



EQUITATION 

• 

CHAPTER I 
INTRODUCTION 

Equitation is divided into several branches: that 
of the promenade, that of the army, of the races, of 
polo, of the circus. The equestrian art consists in 
the practice of these different sorts of equitation, 
in teaching the principles accepted for their prac- 
tice, and in training the horse for these different 
uses. The present work, however, will treat only of 
the equitation of the promenade. 

This portion of the general art has, in its turn, 
three subdivisions. These are: 

The usual or instinctive or " lateral " equitation. 

The rational equitation, V equitation raisonnee, 
based upon reasoned principles worked out by the 
masters of the art. 

The scientific equitation, Vequitation savante, 
based upon the scientific study of animal motions, 
and involving a scientific system of gymnastics for 
the physical development of the horse, designed to 
adapt the animal to the controlled use to which it is 
put. 

It is evident that, from antiquity to our own 
epoch, the usual or instinctive equitation has been 

3 



USUAL OR INSTINCTIVE EQUITATION 

and is still the most practiced. In the infancy of the 
art of horsemanship, men taught themselves by 
instinct and habit, not yet having even the most 
elementary principles. Soon, however, from custom 
and from the practice of experienced riders, there 




AN ANCIENT GREEK RIDER 

arose certain theories and methods, which were 
taught to beginners. Even in the earliest times 
riders had the idea of balance; but they applied it 
only to the seat of the man on the horse, and did not 
at all consider the balance of the horse under the 
weight of the man. This was assumed to be taken 
care of by the animal's own instincts. 

When, later, this instinctive horsemanship had 
still further progressed, and there had been invented 
saddle, bridle, stirrups, and spurs, the experience of 

4 



INTRODUCTION 

riders and teachers developed the principles which 
govern the use of these instruments. Such masters 
as Pignatelli, Gaspard, Saulnier, Pembroke, the 
Duke of Newcastle, Comte de la Gueriniere, and 
others, worked out the theory of mounting and 
dismounting, of seat, of the lateral effect, of the 
bridle, of the use of the spurs, and of the pillars. In 
all this they considered, not Only the improvement 
of the rider's seat, but also the collection or bal- 
ance of the horse. Of this last, however, they had 
only a confused and elementary conception. They 
thought that the horse, when mounted and in 
action, would always find its proper balance for 
itself; and so they devised series of movements, 
which, executed by the horse at walk, trot, and 
gallop, should practice the animal in carrying itself 
with its load. There is, nevertheless, a vast differ- 
ence between such purely instinctive training, and 
the rational equitation which understands the 
reasons for the horse's condition of equilibrium, 
and allows him to execute the various movements 
only while retaining this state. The early masters 
of equitation were ignorant of many facts of 
animal motion now known to science, and they had 
no clear idea of the animal mechanism involved. 
Ignoring the theory of levers, they controlled the 
horse by the lateral effect of the rider's hand and 
leg acting on the same side. It is, therefore, per- 
fectly fair to call this kind of equitation, instinctive, 
usual, lateral. 

5 



USUAL OR INSTINCTIVE EQUITATION 

This lateral equitation can be practiced by the 
beginner by rule of thumb, without acquaintance 
with the principles or theories of any formulated 
method. But a learner makes faster progress and is 
in less danger of accident when he puts himself 
under a riding-master. The riding-master or the 
riding-school will provide a horse already trained, 
with all the needed apparatus. It is then not 
necessary for the pupil to train the animal; but 
only to learn to mount and dismount; to sit 
properly on the horse when standing, walking, 
trotting, or galloping, in a word, to make his seat; 
and to control the horse by the lateral effect at 
these different gaits, in any direction, without 
losing the correct position. When the pupil has 
acquired a sufficiently firm seat, he may practice 
jumping. This will test his progress, and will also 
show him what he has still to learn. My own long 
experience proves to me that the rider's seat is the 
foundation of his progress. Without seat, nothing 
can be learned. With seat, everything, simple or 
difficult, becomes possible. The cavalier can never 
have too much of this sine qua non. Indeed, he can 
never have enough. 



CHAPTER II 
MOUNT, DISMOUNT, AND VAULT 

The horse, being saddled and bridled, quiet, and 
trained to be mounted, is held by the man, who will 
mount on the left side. 

First method: The rider, facing the saddle, in 
















mounting: FmsT method 



front of the stirrup, and holding the reins in his 
right hand, places this hand on the pommel of the 

7 



USUAL OR INSTINCTIVE EQUITATION 

saddle, while with the left he grasps a handful of 
hairs of the mane. Rising on the toes of his right 
foot, he places his left foot in the stirrup, and, after 
two preparatory swings of the body up and down, 
by bending and straightening the right knee, on 
the third, he raises himself upon his left stirrup, 
assisting himself b}' both legs and by the left hand. 
He is now standing erect in the left stirrup, facing 
toward the horse's right. The right hand, always 
holding the reins, is next placed upon the right 
panel of the saddle, the wrist bearing upon the 
upper part, the upper part of the body is inclined 
forward, and the right leg is passed over the horse's 
croup and the rear part of the saddle. Finally, the 
rider, still supporting his body by the right hand, 
comes easily down into the saddle, abandons both 
panel and mane, brings his right hand with the 
reins in front of him, and without looking or any 
help, places his right foot in the stirrup. 

All other methods of mounting are variations of 
this, necessitated by peculiarities of either man or 
horse. 

If the horse is tall and the man short, the latter 
can best reach the stirrup by standing with his 
left side close to the horse's shoulder, and facing to 
the rear. Some riders, on the other hand, prefer to 
face forward, their right side at the horse's left 
flank, and the right hand, which holds the reins, on 
the cantle of the saddle. 

Still another method, if proportions of man and 

8 



MOUNT, DISMOUNT, AND VAULT 

horse permit it, is to lake the left reins in the left 
hand, which also grasps the mane, and the right 
reins in the right hand, which rests on the pommel. 
The rest of the action is like the first method. The 




V 4' 

mounting: second method 

advantage is that the rider always has the reins in 
both hands, and so is ready to control the horse in 
case of need. 

In dismounting, the rider, after stopping his 
horse, takes all four reins in the right hand, placing 
this in front of the left and resting it upon the 

9 



USUAL OR INSTINCTIVE EQUITATION 

pommel. The left hand, now free, he carries above 
the left reins and grasps the mane. He then frees 
his right foot from its stirrup, and raises his weight 
on his left foot, steadying himself with his two 
hands. The body being now upright and clear of 
the saddle, the rider swings his right leg over the 
croup and brings it near the left. Next, he bends 
the left knee till the right foot reaches the ground, 
and takes his left foot from the stirrup, holding all 
the while to both saddle and mane. Last of all, he 
lets go the mane with his left hand, and at the same 
time drops the right reins, still keeping contact 
with the left, advances two steps to the horse's 
head, and grasps with the right hand near the bit, 
either all four reins or else a pair belonging to either 
the snaffle or the curb. 

Mounting and dismounting should be done 
deliberately, but correctly and without hesitation. 

Vaulting is a gymnastic exercise which can be 
performed, not only with a horse specially trained 
and equipped for this purpose, but also with an 
ordinary saddle horse carrying saddle and bridle. 
When a specially trained animal is employed, it is 
kept at a canter, in a circle to the left, while the 
instructor, standing at the center of the ring, with 
a long manege whip, keeps the gait regular and 
cadenced. 

The best horse for this exercise is a strong, well- 
rounded, and well-developed cob, of fifteen hands, 
of good temper and limbs, which has been trained 

10 



MOUNT, DISMOUNT, AND VAULT 

both to hold a regular canter and to stop at the 
instructor's order. It should have on its back a 
strong surcingle, with two iron handles, directed 
forward, not back, and set eight inches below the 
top of the withers. This must be so firmly fastened 
in place that it cannot move even if the entire 
weight of the man bears on one side. The horse is 
reined from the cavesson with a snaffle to the 
surcingle. 

The beginner is first practiced in springing from 
the ground when the horse is standing still. For 
this movement, the pupil stands behind the horse's 
left shoulder, his right hand grasping the left handle 
of the surcingle and his left a tuft of hair of the 
mane, the feet near together and the body straight. 
He then counts to himself, one, two, three, bending 
his knees sharply at each count. With the third 
count, he springs upward, helping himself with his 
hands, until he holds his body straight, supported 
on his arms. Then, keeping the left leg immobile, 
he swings the extended right leg over the croup and 
seats himself on the horse's back. Meanwhile, the 
right and left hands have shifted to the handles on 
their respective sides. 

As soon as the pupil vaults easily to the back of 
the standing horse, he may execute the same move- 
ment with the horse walking and trotting. 

To vault upon a horse at a canter, the pupil takes 
the right handle of the surcingle with his right hand, 
the nails below, and the left handle with the left 

II 



USUAL OR INSTINCTIVE EQUITATION 

hand, the nails up. He keeps the same cadence as 
the horse, the man's leg striding with the corre- 
sponding fore leg of the animal. As the horse plants 
its left foot, the man quickly advances his own 
right foot to a position near the left, and before 
the horse again lifts its left foot, the man bends 
slightly his knees, springs into the air, pulling him- 
self by his left hand, and immediately passes his 
right leg over the haunches of his mount, shifting 
his left hand at the same instant to bring the nails 
below like the other. This movement needs decision, 
quickness of action, and energy on the part of the 
man, since he must be on the back of the horse 
before the latter's right fore foot returns to the 
ground after its stride. No time, therefore, can be 
lost. 

When the rider is mounted and the horse continues 
its canter, the man should, for the sake of his future 
progress, learn to feel the jolt of the horse's motion, 
and to neutralize this by the relaxation of his mus- 
cles and the suppleness of his spine, all in the ex- 
act cadence of the step. For it is on this sense of 
cadence that everything else depends. If the pupil 
has not that, he will begin his movement too early 
or too late, and thus render the maneuver most 
distressing to the spectator and nearly impossible 
for himself. 

When the pupil has become accustomed to the 
canter cadence, he may be set to practicing the 
following progressive series of movements: 

12 



MOUNT, DISMOUNT, AND VAULT 

Seat the two legs to the left. 

Seated to the left, jump to the ground and to the 

back at the same stride. 
Seat the two legs to the right. 
From right, jump astride. 
From astride, seat to the left. 
From left to right. 
From astride to the ground and seat to the 

left. 
From left to the ground and seat to the right. 
From right to left, jump, and astride. 
From seat to the left, to the ground, and from the 

ground to the right, and astride. 
From seat to right, ground to right, ground to 

the left, and astride. 
From astride, jump to the ground, to the left, to 

the right, to the ground, from right ground to 

left ground, from left ground to right ground, 

from right ground to astride. 
From astride to facing backward astride. 
From astride backward to astride forward. 
Same movements repeated at each tempo of the 

canter. 
These movements may be supplemented by 
others; but this series, well executed, is enough to 
give confidence and quickness to ordinary pupils. 
The added movements, even if very brilliant, will 
not be of great practical use. 

When vaulting is taught with the horse saddled 
and bridled, the methods are the same except that 

13 



USUAL OR INSTINCTIVE EQUITATION 

the left hand grips a tuft of the mane instead of the 
handle of the surcingle. 

The instructor will be successful if he makes 
vaulting a pleasure to the pupil; but not if he makes 
it hard work. 



CHAPTER III 
THE SEAT 

The seat of the rider on the horse has been deter- 
mined in its details by anatomy, by veterinary 
science, and by equestrian art. Anatomists have 
maintained, with reason, that the more nearly 
perfect the physical conformation of the man, the 
more easily will he seat himself correctly upon his 
mount, when the two are proportioned to one 
another. Veterinarians have approved the position, 
finding in it no cause for unsoundness, loss of 
health, or interference with movements, weight 
carrying, and regularity of gaits. Masters of 
equitation have fixed the details of the position and 
taught the theor}^ of it in the light of its efficiency 
for controlling the horse by hands, legs, and weight, 
both standing still and in motion, at different gaits, 
and for neutralizing the shocks from the moving 
animal. Theory gives the idea of the position ; but 
only practice brings the adhesion, contact, stability, 
suppleness, and confidence which constitute the 
state called seat. 

Seat is the basis of equitation. By the seat the 
rider is in contact with his mount, communicates 
to the animal the confidence he has in it, and, on 
the other hand, is notified at once of the horse's 

15 



USUAL OR INSTINCTIVE EQUITATION 

disposition to obey or refuse. Only with a good seat 
is the rider able to use hands and legs, and to alter 
gait and direction by shifting accurately his weight. 
As we are all of us too ready to neglect those funda- 
mental laws which control our lives, forgetting that 
if these laws of nature were suspended for even a 
quarter-second, life itself would cease, so as riders 
we tend to ignore the basal principles of inertia and 
weight as they affect action and seat. If the horse 
commit some fault, the result of our own improper 
disposition of the weight upon his back, we blame 
the horse. Yet the fault is ours ; for the load which 
we put upon him is really very great when we 
consider carefully the muscular effort which the 
animal must put forth in executing our direc- 
tions. 

The rider, being mounted, should feel the saddle 
in contact with the cocc}^ and the two hip bones. 
These serve as a base, and bear the weight equally. 
They are the fixed point from which the upper part 
of the body moves to right or left, backward or 
forward, without ever ceasing contact, except when 
rising to the trot. The thighs, inclined at an angle 
of forty-five degrees, should be turned, without 
effort, so that their flat sides are against the saddle, 
which they press equally. If the flat sides of the 
thighs are not against the saddle, contact and 
adherence are lost. If they are placed thus with 
effort, the muscles are tense, and therefore cannot 
be flat. This not only prevents adherence, but, in 

i6 



I 



THE SEAT 

addition, tires the muscles so that they cannot act 
when most needed. (Frontispiece.) 

The thighs are sloped forty-five degrees, because 
in that position they grip most forcibly. They are 
held evenly against the sides of the horse, since 
otherwise the adhesion is unequal and the seat not 
steady, the rider having disturbed it by his ow^n 
fault. The knees should be kept free from all 
stiffness, so that the full length of the femoral 
muscles may be in close and permanent contact 
with the horse's sides, and the knees themselves, 
when necessary, may grip the saddle strongly and 
quickly. They should not, however, press con- 
stantly and strongly, lest as in the case of the 
thighs, the muscles become too fatigued to act 
when called upon. 

Such is the first part of the position of the seat, 
the immovable part, the foundation of all the rest. 
Two remaining portions of the rider's body are 
movable, the trunk above the hips and the legs 
below the knee. 

THE POSITION OF THE TRUNK 

The loins should be braced, but free from stiffness. 
Otherwise, they will communicate their rigidity to 
the entire upper part of the body, which will in 
consequence be less ready to respond to unexpected 
movements of the horse. The rest of the trunk, 
also, should be upright, easy, and free. It must be 
flexible, else it cannot be handled as a free mass, 

17 



USUAL OR INSTINCTIVE EQUITATION 

swinging forward and backward and from side to 
side without affecting the seat. It must be upright 
for the sake of the balance. 

The shoulders should be kept down, else the 
breathing will not be free, and the rider will tend 
to round his back, draw in his waist, and so throw 
his spine off the perpendicular. But if the shoulders 
are forced too far back, they will hollow out and 
impede the free action of the arms. 

The arms, likewise, should be kept free, so that 
their movements may be entirely independent of 
those of the body. Moreover, if the arms be stiff, 
this stiffness will extend to the hands, which hold 
the reins, and diminish their "intelligence." The 
elbows should fall into an easy, natural position at 
the sides. If they are kept too close to the body, 
the position appears uncomfortable, and the wrists 
cannot be raised or lowered without displacing the 
arms and moving the upper part of the body. 

The head should be carried erect, easy, and free 
from the shoulders. The head is itself heavy, and 
being at the upper end of the spine and farthest 
from the point of support, any change in its posi- 
tion affects markedly the balance of both rider and 
horse. I do not, however, mean to suggest any such 
position as that of the soldier on parade, neck 
immovable and eyes straight ahead. What I mean 
is that the rider's head should move to the right or 
left, freely, but without any stooping, the eyes 
looking far ahead, since one cannot see distant 

i8 



THE SEAT 

objects without noticing intermediate ones also. 
The head in its movements should be upright, and 
should turn without carrying the shoulders with it. 

The forearms should make a right angle at the 
elbow, but only as an intermediate position to be 
altered either way as different effects are desired. 
The two wrists should be kept at the same height, 
the fingers facing one another and the thumbs up. 
If one wrist is carried higher or lower than the other, 
the corresponding rein will have more or less effect 
on the horse's mouth. The two wrists should be 
separated about six inches, the usual thickness of 
a horse's neck. If the reins are held farther apart, 
they will, in proportion to their separation, act 
more upon the bit itself and less upon the bars of 
the mouth, and so be less felt. If, however, the 
reins of the snaffle are held nearer together, they 
will exercise a pressure on the lips, which is efficient 
if not too long continued. I do not mention here 
bridle bits, curb chains, and other instruments of 
torture, long ago discarded by sound equestrian art. 

The wrist joints should be kept pliable, so as not 
to communicate stiffness to the arms and neck. 
Stiff wrists, moreover, prevent the rider from feel- 
ing the horse's mouth. The thumbs should be kept 
up, since in this position the two hands are most 
uniform and readiest to affect the mouth of the 
horse, either when resistance is to be followed by 
yielding or when the rider slackens the reins. 
Moreover, when the thumbs are up, they press 

19 



USUAL OR INSTINCTIVE EQUITATION 

somewhat more firmly upon the reins, so that these 
are less likely to slip. Finally, if the fingers are 
turned up, the elbows will be stiff and too close to 
the body. But if they are turned down, the elbows 
will stick out. 

The bridle is, after all, the most important means 
of controlling the horse. The hand manages the bit 
by way of the reins. The bit, by its contact, 
governs the mouth. The mouth communicates 
with the neck. The neck guides the front limbs. 
Therefore, must the hands be kept in place, and 
the reins be of equal length. For if the reins slip 
in the fingers, control of the front hand is, for the 
instant, lost. For many reasons, then, it becomes 
important to keep the thumbs upon the reins. 

THE POSITION OF THE LOWER LEG 

The leg below the knee should fall naturally. If 
ankle or calf is stiff, the knee joint also will stiffen, 
the knees will tend to get up on the saddle, and the 
leg will not work freely in managing the horse. The 
upper part of the calf should press the saddle 
lightly. If it presses too strongly, fatigue results. 
Moreover, the rider cannot carry the legs backward 
without opening the knees, and thus he loses one of 
the essentials of a good seat. Yet, on the other 
hand, if the calf does not touch the saddle at all, 
then the leg must be too far out at the side, too far 
forward, or too far back. In the first tv/o cases, the 
legs will be too far from the body of the horse to 

20 



THE SEAT 

produce any effect. In the last case, the effect will 
be permanent, and so destroy itself. 

In riding without stirrups, the foot should fall 
freely, lest the fixing of the ankle joint stiffen the 
rest of the leg. When stirrups are used, the foot 
may either be kept well home, or only the ball 
inserted. In either case, the rider must be able to 
use the lower leg, without stiffness, in managing 
the horse. 

It is often said that the heels ought always to be 
lower than the toes. This, however, seems to be 
nothing more than an ancient prejudice of cav- 
alrymen, who see nothing but general appearance 
and cling to dear old routine. If only the knees do 
not come up too high on the saddle, and the feet 
are not too much turned out so as to spur the horse 
unwittingly, one may wear his stirrups as he likes. 
In fact, one need not use stirrups at all. Only one 
must remember, that although in riding-school and 
park, a third of the foot in the stirrup is sufficient, 
hunting and racing on the fiat and riding across 
country and charging the enemy, all require the 
whole foot there. The former position gives more 
freedom for working the legs; but no one ceases to 
be a good horseman by putting his feet a little more 
forward or back, provided always that the seat is 
not disturbed and the legs are free to manage the 
mount. 

I have described a rider's position on horseback 
minutely and at length. It will take a beginner 

21 



USUAL OR INSTINCTIVE EQUITATION 

five years of practice to master it satisfactorily. 
For, in the first place, to secure perfect adhesion, 
the muscles of the thighs must acquire a certain 
shape. But while one is attending to the position 
of the head or the arms, the thighs get out of place 
and have to be readjusted. Moreover, nothing ex- 
cept long practice will enable one to grip forcibly 
with the thighs, without communicating the least 
contraction to the legs or to the upper portion of 
the body, which must always remain entirely in- 
dependent of any action of other muscles. 

It seems easy, does it not? Well, then, sit on a 
chair and try to bring the legs and the upper part of 
the body backward simultaneously. It is not so easy 
as it looks. But on horseback one has to remember 
everything at once, and to do everything at the 
same time. My readers will understand now, that 
I, like all practiced teachers, am but an open book 
from which a pupil gets information at any moment. 
But, after all, the pupil himself is his own best 
teacher, if only he will practice long and con- 
stantly. 

I was, myself, never permitted stirrups from four 
years of age till ten. During this time I used to 
accompany my father on hunting parties; and if I 
happened to fall, he would always count, "One 
less," referring to the seven falls which by tradition 
precede the acquisition of a seat. 

Yes, to acquire a good seat, one must learn to 
ride without stirrups! 

22 



THE SEAT 

But to ride without stirrups, and especially to 
trot, before all the muscles have been relaxed by 
riding at a walk and progressively, is surely a wrong 
practice. Because, if the rider contracts his limbs 
to resist the movements of the horse, he at once 
makes the muscles too set to assume the shape 
necessary' for perfect adhesion. Must one, then, 
walk a horse for months and years? It would, 
indeed, be the best method, though rather imprac- 
ticable in view of the probable expense. 

I, therefore, advise the beginner to use stirrups, 
so as to fall as few times as possible — and thus 
save his parents' feelings. Let it be, nevertheless, 
the first object to become, as soon as possible, fully 
able to sit upon a saddle, without stirrups, at all 
paces. 

What, then, should be the ordinary practice? 
For the first winter, ride at the school, without 
stirrups, but always in the presence of the instruc- 
tor. Learn for yourself all you possibly can, until 
you have gained a certain degree of stability of 
seat; and do not neglect to practice during the 
summer. 

For the second winter, organize a class of ten 
or a dozen young people of about the same age and 
advancement — boys only, no girls. Put the class 
under a teacher, who, remembering his own early 
training, will work with enthusiasm. Have lessons 
three times a week for six months. 

Here is a programme for such a class: Walking 

23 



USUAL OR INSTINCTIVE EQUITATION 

without stirrups. Calisthenic exercises. Stopping 
and walking. Individual turn. Successive semi- 
turn. Successive turn. Trotting, Calisthenics, etc., 
as above, while trotting. Walking. Individual half- 
turn. Individual turn, stopping, and starting again 
to a trot. Galloping. Calisthenic exercises, etc., as 
in walking and trotting. Stopping and starting to 
the gallop. This whole programme is to be gone 
through, first with stirrups, and then a second time 
without. 

The time has not 3^et come for learning to manage 
the horse. This will come later. At the end of the 
second year, the young pupil ought to be able to 
perform all these movements easily, without stir- 
rups. Circular movements have been included in 
the programme, since the pupil should be made 
accustomed to all directions and to producing all 
kinds of movements. 

Let the pupil also bear in mind that just as to 
beconie a good sailor one must not be afraid of 
seasickness, so to become a good rider one must not 
be afraid of the rough movements of the horse. 
Once accustomed to these, one learns in due time 
to counteract them. But if one tries from the 
start to repress these sudden jerks, he never 
becomes used to them, and his contractive efforts 
will, sooner or later, be turned into stiffness. 

Now this condition of stiffness is precisely what 
the learner ought to avoid from the very outset. 
But for the beginner the greatest difficulty of all is 

24 



THE SEAT 

to put the proper amount of contraction into the 
muscles of the thighs, so as to obtain adhesion, and 
yet at the same time to prevent this contractive 
force, which belongs to the immovable portion of 
the seat, from interfering with the suppleness of 
the two other, movable, parts of the body. This 
difficulty is best met by the following calisthenic 
flexions : 

Movements of the head: down, up, left, right. 

Of the arms: up, down, forward, back, rotation 
at the shoulder. 

Of the spine: backward, forward, left, right. 

Of the lower legs: forward and backward, with 
turning of the toes inward from both positions. 

Of the ankles: toes in, out, up, down. 

Of the thighs: knees high, and knees down, but 
always with contact between the saddle and 
the base of the spine. 

These exercises, executed at walk, trot, and 
gallop, will enable the beginner to move, freely, 
legs, head, arms, and body, while at the same time 
keeping the seat firm. 

But the adhesion of the thigh muscles must be 
produced and maintained, solely by the pliancy and 
flexibility of these muscles, and not at all by their 
permanent contraction. Such contraction should 
be but momentary, never spreading to other parts 
of the body, which must always remain unaffected 
by any effort of the thighs. 

Moreover, the trunk and head should be able to 

25 



USUAL OR INSTINCTIVE EQUITATION 

move forward or backward of the perpendicular, 
and to the left and right, without in the least 
displacing the weight from its base, and without 
any effect whatever upon the contact, adhesion, or 
other element of the seat. So, too, should the lower 
leg be able to swing backward from its position and 
forward again, without any tendency to advance 
too far, and without any disturbance of any other 
member. 

In short, both the upper and the lower parts of 
the rider's body must be trained to work freely on 
their respective joints, separately or together, in 
any direction, yet without affecting in any wise the 
immovable seat. 

For the seat is the focus of all equestrian feeling. 
By way of the seat, the rider senses the coming 
movements of the horse. By means of the seat, with 
other aids, he controls or prevents these. Further- 
more, it often happens that a fidgety animal will 
submit unresistingly to a rider whose seat is firm, 
while another rider, unsteady of seat, will manage 
it only with difficulty. The creature seems to be 
affected one way or the other, according as it can 
or cannot shift the rider's weight. 

Some horsemen are of the opinion that this 
moral effect passes from horse to rider; some that 
it travels from rider to horse. I myself think that 
both are right. For consider any horse, standing 
still, mounted by a rider having the most perfect 
seat, but who moves neither hands nor legs. Where, 

26 



THE SEAT 

then, is this moral effect? But let the animal once 
start to move, then he must immediately be sen- 
sible of the rider's quality. The rider who has a 
correct seat will not permit his mount to proceed 
according to its own fancy, but will constrain it, 
confidently, unhesitatingly, by rational and positive 
means. On the other hand, the rider whose seat 
is not firm will sometimes surprise his horse and 
sometimes let it go. His control will be strained, 
hesitating; and the horse will feel this. 

Moreover, in spite of inconsistencies in certain 
systems, I cannot but believe — and the longer I 
study, the better I am convinced — that the seat 
is much improved by training horses for one's self. 
For after all, it matters little what the origin or the 
quality of the particular system adopted, so long as 
the rider takes and gives with hands and legs, and 
thus learns to move his members without disturbing 
his seat. Whenever, by constant practice, this habit 
has become fixed, then the rider will maintain his 
seat without ever thinking of it at all. But in that 
case, he will, obviously, communicate his own 
confidence to his horse, while at the same time he 
forestalls easily any untoward movement, rearing, 
bucking, arching the back, shaking the head, kick- 
ing, and the rest. 

But how can a rider do all this without self- 
confidence; and how shall he be self-confident 
without a steady seat? The indifferent rider, who 
lets his horse go as he will, who hangs on by the 

2^ 



USUAL OR INSTINCTIVE EQUITATION 



reins, who grips the animal's sides with the calves 
of his legs, has no use for seat. But whoever wishes 
to ride at the regular paces with grace and com- 
fort, can never have too strong a seat. So long as 
the horse walks, mere contact is sufficient. Riding 
outside the school, and rising at the trot, necessi- 
tates contact of the knees, since at each step 
contact of the thighs is lost. The very fast trot 
demands a close seat. For the trot au rassembler, 
commonly called "passage," grip is essential — 
since I do not know one horseman who can trot 
au rassembler with a rising seat. The gallop also 
requires a close seat; while for the counter-moves 
and for jumping, grip is indispensable during the 

action, and should 
be in proportion to 
the violence of the 
shock. 

Here, in fine, is 
what I advise the 
student at the rid- 
ing-school : Give 
great weight to all 
the principles here 
set forth. Never 
miss a single les- 
son; for the riding-master has his amour-propre and 
will be the more interested in your progress if you 
try to show him by your regular attendance that you 
really desire to become a good horseman. Finally, 

28 




RIDING IN THE PILLARS TO 
COMPLETE THE RIDER's SEAT 



THE SEAT 

do not Imagine that you have understood every- 
thing. Make sure for yourself and be convinced. 

Such, then, are the means which the reasoned 
equitation offers toward obtaining a proper seat. 
The military schools still employ jumpers in the 
pillars. These are useful enough for suppling 
recruits, who have to be taught in the shortest 
possible time to stay in the saddle, no matter by 
what means. They are not applicable to civilians 
of every age; neither do they always produce fear- 
lessness. 



CHAPTER IV 
THE WOMAN RIDER 

For the many women nowadays who ride across 
saddle, all principles and methods are precisely the 
same as for men. This discussion, therefore, con- 
cerns only those who use the side-saddle. 

A horse to be ridden by a woman should accord 
completely in color, conformation, temper, regu- 
larity of gaits, and safety, with the age, build, 
temperament, social position, and equestrian skill 
of the rider. It must, at the very least, be well 
broken, trained to the side-saddle, and wonted to 
every object commonly met in city or country. It 
should, in addition, possess two special qualities. 
The first is that it should go forward freely, 
without needing continually to be urged, and yet, 
at the same time, be restrained and directed 
without too much exertion on the rider's part. 
The second is that it should be absolutely sure- 
footed at all three gaits. A horse with a long, free, 
easy walk is preferable. One with any tendency to 
rear is quite out of the question. 

It is by the correct simplicity of her dress, the 
firmness of hat and hair, that the horsewoman will 
make possible both her comfort and that elegance 
which, for the woman rider, takes "the place of 
beauty. 

30 



THE WOMAN RIDER 

TO MOUNT 

A HORSE to be ridden by a woman must have been 
trained to stand absolutely quiet to be mounted, 
without the need of any second assistant. The 
rider stands at the left of the animal, facing forward. 
The right hand, resting on the second pommel of 
the saddle, holds the reins at the correct length for 




CORRECT MANNER OF MOUNTING FOR A WOMAN 

feeling the horse's mouth. The single assistant 
faces the rider, his right foot in front of his left, his 
body leaning forward and his left hand extended to 
receive the woman's left foot, while his right hand 
is either at her waist or just below her left shoulder. 

31 



USUAL OR INSTINCTIVE EQUITATION 

The rider's left hand rests on the right shoulder of 
the assistant. 

Thereupon, one or other of them counts — one, 
two, three; and at the last count the assistant lifts 
with his extended right leg, bringing forward the 
left foot beside the right, and supports the woman's 
weight. She, on her side, taking this support, raises 
herself, and pivoting sidewise, seats herself on the 
saddle, both knees to the left. She then removes 
her hand from the saddle fork, while at the same 
time the assistant, taking her right boot in his left 
hand, aids her in passing her right knee over this 
second fork. When the right foot is in place, he 
takes her left boot by the heel, turns forward the 
stirrup, and helps to set the foot in place. In the 
meantime the rider is adjusting her reins, holding 
them either with one hand or both. Last of all, 
the assistant helps with the complexities of elastics 
and straps, and hands the rider her whip. 

All this must be done deliberately and precisely, 
without either abruptness or hesitation. If the 
rider's left boot is armed with a spur, she must 
warn her assistant. 

Young pupils in the riding-schools commonly 
mount from a block. This is a mistake at the begin- 
ning, though well enough later, after they have 
learned to mount from the ground. The fault is 
that of the riding-master who neglects his duty as 
a teacher. Boys of fourteen should be taught to 
assist a lady in mounting; and I do not hesitate to 

32 



THE WOMAN RIDER 

say that this knowledge is an essential part of good 
breeding. 

Some masters advocate giving the right foot 
rather than the left, as more secure. I have tried 
out both ways, and find that it makes little differ- 
ence. The main points are practice, and the skill 
and strength of the assistant, who must lift the 
rider without jolt, and with no thrust toward the 
rear, since this might tear her hand from the sad- 
dle fork, or even send her over backwards. The 
assistant does not toss the rider, but lifts her 
steadily, in exact time with the straightening of her 
knee, as if his hands were a step. 

A horsewoman can, however, mount by herself, 
by lengthening her stirrup, and then, when seated, 
adjusting it again. She can also mount by aid 
of a stone, tree, fence, or other elevation. For all 
these, however, she must be assured of the temper 
and docility of her horse. I recommend all young 
riders to learn to mount alone. It is good practice, 
and often very useful both in hunting-field and on 
promenade. 

TO DISMOUNT 

To dismount, the rider stops her horse, takes all 
four reins in the right hand, removes her foot from 
the stirrup, raises her right knee from the saddle, 
and passes her right leg over to the left side, 
pivoting on the seat. Her right hand, still holding 
the reins, now rests on the second pommel. The 

33 



USUAL OR INSTINCTIVE EQUITATION 

assistant, standing at the horse's left haunch, takes 
her left hand in his right, and aids her also with his 
own left, as she slips to the ground, still helped by 
her right hand on the second fork. An agile woman 
can dismount thus without assistance. 

Dismounting, like mounting, should be done de- 
cisively, but without abruptness. 

It is at the act of mounting that the horse first 
feels the ability of the rider, her confidence, and her 
skill. Baucher and Fillis always trained their 
horses before letting them be mounted by their 
women pupils. I myself often let mine begin with 
horses that have been merely broken; and I have 
always been successful. 

THE horsewoman's POSITION 

The woman rider, mounted, should carry her head 
straight and free, turning it easily in any direction 
without affecting the body. 

The eyes look straight to the front between the 
horse's ears, and always in the direction in which 
the animal is going. 

The body above the waist is erect and mobile. 
Below the waist, it is firm, but without being 
stiff. 

The shoulders are well back and on the same 
line. 

The arms fall naturally, the forearms are bent, 
and the elbows are held close to the body, but not 
stiffly. 

34 



THE WOMAN RIDER 



The wrists are on the level of the elbows, and six 
inches apart. 

Both hands hold the reins, the fingers firmly 
closed, the nails to- 
ward each other, 
and the thumbs ex- 
tended along the 
reins. 

The end of the 
rider's spine is per- 
pendicular to the 
spine of the horse, 
and exactly in the 
middle of the sad- 
dle. This contact 
carries the weight, 
not only of the up- 
per portion of the 
body, but also of 
the thighs and even 
of the legs below the knees. By the bearing of the 
end of the spine on the saddle, and by the contact 
of the inside of the right knee with the second fork 
and of the inside of the left thigh and knee with 
the saddle, the horsewoman balances the body and 
neutralizes the shock of the moving horse. 

The right foot falls naturally on the saddle, the 
toe forward and somewhat down, the outside of 
the calf against the panel. 

The left foot feels the stirrup, but does not lean 

35 




CORRECT POSITION OF THE 
WOMAN ON HORSEBACK 



USUAL OR INSTINCTIVE EQUITATION 



on it. The toe turns a little inward, just enough 
to prevent the left calf from pressing against the 
saddle, since this would tend to pull the entire 
body round to the left. 

Further details of the woman rider's position 

may be found in my 
book. The Horsewoman, 
D. Appleton and Com- 
pany, New York. This 
which I have here set 
forth Is the accepted 
posture. It is easily ac- 
quired if the pupil be- 
gins young and prac- 
tices certain calisthenic 
exercises on horseback. 
To have a good seat is 
to be able to retain this 
position, under all con- 
ditions, with the horse 
in motion. No woman, 
young or adult, can ac- 
quire such seat merely by reading any book. She 
needs in addition, the help of a teacher, one, 
moreover, of long experience. 

The principles of the reasoned and of the sci- 
entific equitation are the same for women as for 
men, the woman rider's whip taking the place of 
the man's right leg. 




CORRECT POSITION OF THE 

LEGS AND ARMS WHEN 

MOUNTED 



CHAPTER V 
THE AIDS 

The best procedure for the beginner would, no 
doubt, be to master all the details of seat, position, 
and the manipulation of the reins, while the horse 
is standing still. Few pupils, however, are at all 
willing to undertake any such patient labor. 
Young or adult, they want, not merely to walk, but 
to trot, before they have any idea what is to be 
done, either to direct or to control their mounts. 
My own experience is, therefore, that it is really 
better, on the whole, to let the beginner do, within 
reason, a good deal as he likes. 

In the usual or lateral equitation, the rider 
possesses two aids or means of controlling the 
horse. These are the hands holding the reins and 
the calves of the legs, or in the case of the rider on 
a side-saddle, the left leg and the whip. 

The effects of the hands are three: 

By pulling straight back on the reins, the rider 
signals the horse to diminish the speed of its 
forward motion or to stop it completely. 

By raising the hand vertically, the rider lifts the 
horse's head. The horse, in consequence, raises its 
front hand, and therefore, its front legs. 

By drawing more strongly on either rein, the 

37 



USUAL OR INSTINCTIVE EQUITATION 

horse's head is pulled to that side, and it tends to 
turn in that direction. 

The rider's legs, on the other hand, have only one 
elTect: 

When both are pressed against the horse's flanks, 
they determine the action of its hind legs, since, 
to avoid the pressure, it advances the whole body. 
Either leg used alone pushes the horse to the oppo- 
site side. 

If, then, the horse is standing still, the pressure of 
both the rider's legs starts it walking forward. If 
the horse is in motion, pressure with the right leg, 
accompanied by an increased pull on the right rein, 
turns the animal to the right, and vice versa. Such 
use of rein and leg on the same side constitutes 
the right or left lateral effect. The rein gives the 
direction to the front hand. The leg gives the im- 
pulse to the hind hand, which thereupon pushes 
forward in the direction indicated. 

It is, however, most important always to bear in 
mind that such effect of hand and legs is always by 
means of an added pull on one rein and an added 
pressure of one leg, never by the diminished contact 
of rein or leg on the other side. The principle is that 
the effect of one rein or one leg, without the usual 
contact on the other side, will not alter the direction 
of the animal's forward motion, but will pivot him 
on the fixed spot. If, then, the horse is advancing, 
held to a straight line by, let us call it, two degrees 
of contact of reins and legs, and it is desired to turn 

38 



THE AIDS 

him to the right, the left hand and the left leg still 
maintain their two degrees of pressure, while at the 
same time, the right hand and the right leg increase 
theirs from two degrees to three and from three 
degrees to four. But as soon as the horse has made 
the required change of direction, right leg and right 
rein return to their former two degrees of effect, and 
give once more the straight line forward. 

These effects are the same at trot and canter. 

In the usual equitation, the rider remains up- 
right in his saddle, except that the body inclines a 
little forward to cause the horse to advance, and 
inclines slightly backward for stopping and backing. 
In this sort of equitation, the horse is not main- 
tained in any state of equilibrium, the location of 
its center of gravity is problematical, and there- 
fore, the weight of the rider has little effect in 
governing its movements. 

At the trot, the rider may either keep a close seat, 
or he may rise at each step, in what is called the 
English motion. But in either case, he has to sit 
close in order to use the pressure of his legs for 
changes of direction or of gait, or for other control. 
He can, indeed, turn his mount by the reins only, 
without using his legs; but the animal obeys only 
because it is willing. Without pressure of the legs, 
the rider cannot compel obedience. 

As soon as the learner has acquired sufficient 
confidence and a firm seat, it is helpful exercise to 
practice jumping obstacles. 



CHAPTER VI 
THE GAITS 

The usual equitation regards the horse as an ani- 
mated machine already adjusted to carrying the 
rider's weight at various gaits. Means of securing 
regularity of gait or of correcting irregularity belong 
to the rational equitation, and are quite outside the 
ordinary form. 

The horse has three natural, or regular, gaits — 
the walk, the trot, and the run. He has, besides, 
two other irregular or artificial gaits, the amble 
and the single-foot, which are not natural to the 
animal, except where they are the result of special 
breeding or training. 

The walk progresses by a succession of strides, 
in which the four limbs move two by two, diago- 
nally. It is, therefore, said to be in "diagonal 
biped." In the fast walk, called by Newcastle, in 
French, le pas releve, though the animal still keeps 
at all times three feet on the ground, the diagonal 
movement is no longer apparent. 

The means for making a standing horse change 
to a walk are so various in the usual equitation, 
that it is not possible to touch upon any but the 
most commonly practiced, such as chirping with 
the tongue, the moderate use of the whip, advanc- 

40 



THE GAITS 

ing the bridle hand. Turning is brought about by 
the traction of one rein; stopping and backing, by 
pulHng upon both. 

If, when at the walk, the horse is urged to go 
faster, it breaks into the trot. The trot is like the 
walk, except that the diagonal action is more 
pronounced and more apparent, and that the feet 
are kept a shorter portion of the time on the ground. 
In trotting, the horse's spine at the haunches 
delivers a succession of shocks to the seat of the 
rider, who neutralizes them by rising from the 
saddle an instant before each blow. This device 
secures both comfort and exercise. Except for this, 
the conduct of the trot is the same as of the walk. 

The fastest gait is the run. The action is a 
succession of leaps executed by the two sides of 
the body symmetrically, or, as it is called, in 
" lateral biped." A somewhat slower run is a gallop. 
A slower gallop is a canter. 

If at the run, gallop, or canter the two legs on, let 
us say, the right side, gain more ground than the 
other two, the horse is said to run, gallop, or canter 
to the right, or, more simply, to lead to the right; 
and vice versa. But whenever a horse at run, gallop, 
or canter turns its course to either side, it has to 
lead with that side. Conversely, when the horse is 
urged to any of these gaits, and at the same time is 
compelled to turn to either side, it will, almost 
always, take the lead to the same side. Otherwise, 
these gaits are managed like the walk and trot. 

41 



USUAX OR INSTINCTIVE EQUITATION 

Of the irregular gaits, the amble, widely esteemed 
in the days of the instinctive equitation, is still 
favored by the Cossacks of the Ukraine and 
Crimea, the Arabs, certain American Indians, by 
Mexicans, and in our own Southern States. A few 
unskillful riders, also, even in the more sophisti- 




AMBLE 

Gated parts of the world, still prefer the comfort of 
the amble to the exhilaration of the trot. 

In the amble, the horse, instead of striding with 
two diagonal members, as in the trot, advances 
together the two limbs on the same side. There is, 
therefore, no play at the coupling, no trajectory, 
and the rider is pushed alternately from side to side, 
instead of being propelled upward as in the trot. 

42 



THE GAITS 

So far as this gait is the result of training, it 
can be corrected,, though with difficulty. But if it 
is hereditary, it can seldom be changed. I have 
myself had occasion, in the United States, to al- 
ter a good many amblers into trotters. My own 
method is by cavesson and breaking-strap, a tire- 
some device, but fairly quick and sure. The 
progression through the reasoned equitation is the 
best corrective; but this also is very tedious, since 
the work must be done, partly on foot, and partly 
mounted in place. Even then, if the horse is put 
to the trot and begins to amble, he must be stopped 
at once, lest he become confused and not under- 
stand what is asked of him. 

The rack is between a walk and an amble. The 
four limbs advance by a lateral motion, slower 
than at the amble, faster and shorter than at the 
walk. But in order to do this, the muscles of neck, 
back, loins, and haunches have to be kept con- 
tracted, so that the entire vertebral column is 
held immobile. This is especially noticeable in the 
pelvic region and at the coupling. The hind hand 
receives no trajection as in the walk and trot. The 
rear limbs move below the croup without any 
lift-and-drop at each step. The sacral region re- 
mains rigid. The stride is short and quick. 

The front legs are neither completely in lateral, 
nor yet completely in diagonal. Each reaches 
forward and returns supporting the load, a little 
in advance of the rear limb on the same side. But 

43 



USUAL OR INSTINCTIVE EQUITATION 

the return of the feet is quicker than at the walk, 
and their beat is about equally spaced. In other 
words, at the regular walk there are heard two 
beats in diagonal; at the amble, three beats in 
lateral ; at the rack, four beats in lateral. 

The rack was much favored in ancient times, 
when there were no roads, when horses were ridden 
without saddle or bridle, and the best gait was the 
one which needed least skill and balance on the 
rider's part. It is now obsolete. 

Single-foot is almost never taken by instinct, 
unless the animal suffers from atrophy, weakness, 
or fatigue. Occasionally, however, it is hereditary. 
In the latter case, the correction of the fault is 
nearly impossible and never permanent. If the 
gait is the result of training, as it is sometimes in 
Brittany, Mexico, and the western parts of the 
United States, it is best cured by cavesson and 
longe. 

The action in single-foot is a slow trot in front, 
and a fast walk behind. It is exactly the movement 
of a horse thoroughly tired out by a long journey, 
which is nevertheless being urged forward by its 
rider. Such an animal, again rested, will return to 
his normal walk and trot. 

The irregular or artificial gaits may be the result 
of training or of heredity. 

The amble is the same the world over, though 
called amble in England, but rack, pace, or fox-trot 
in the United States. The word does not matter, 

44 



THE GAITS 

except that "pace," ambiguous in this sense, had 
better be kept to mean all the gaits of a horse, and 
not restricted to a particular one. 

When a horse, already at a fast trot, is urged to 
move still more rapidly, so that action in diagonal 




SINGLE-FOOT 

biped becomes impossible, he may change to the 
amble. For this, he stiffens the spine, and replaces 
the up-and-down motion of the trot by an oscilla- 
tion from side to side in lateral biped. Fore and 
hind legs on the same side advance together; but 
the motion is so rapid that the animal appears 
to the eye to be running with the hind legs and 

45 



USUAL OR INSTINCTIVE EQUITATION 

trotting with the front. Curiously, certain ambling 
horses have been, on the track, faster than the 
fastest trotters. 

In the single-foot, the hind legs move at a fast 
walk, while the fore legs execute a slow trot. Both 
these irregular gaits can be cured by the reasoned 
equitation, or by the cavesson and breaking-strap. 



CHAPTER VII 

JUMPING 

The first prerequisites in a horse that is to clear an 
obstacle properly are conformation, strength, and 
energy. Any horse, when free, will jump anything 
if frightened or pursued. But it has to be trained 
to jump at the rider's will and under his weight. 

For this there are various methods, of which the 
following has proved by experience to be the best. 

A bar of wood or a low hurdle is placed on the 
ground, and the horse, led by a man holding the 




FIRST LESSON WITH THE LONGE 

longe of the cavesson, and maintained always in a 
state of perfect calm and docility, is habituated to 

47 



USUAL OR INSTINCTIVE EQUITATION 

passing this at a walk. When the animal has ac- 
quired confidence, the obstacle is raised progres- 
sively, the trainer following the horse and encour- 
aging him by showing the long whip, not, however, 
striking, unless the horse actually refuses. Even 
in that case it is better not actually to strike, 
but only to swing the whip gently. Meanwhile, the 
man holding the longe must be careful not to hinder 
the horse from jumping, or to pull against it after 
it has passed the bar. As soon as the animal sur- 
mounts the barrier calmly, it should be recom- 
pensed by caresses or otherwise. 

When the horse has learned to take the bar at a 
walk, it is practiced, progressively, at the gallop. 
Here, especially, is it essential not to excite the 
animal, nor to check it by the longe, either before 
or after the leap. For the horse in leaping has to 
develop a very great amount of muscular energy; 
and if the trainer hinders it in any way, or at any 
time asks too much of it, the horse fails to put forth 
sufficient energy, becomes disheartened, refuses, 
and tries to bolt. 

After this training with the cavesson has pro- 
ceeded far enough, the trainer mounts the horse, 
and proceeds once more with the same programme 
from the beginning. 

From this point on, it must always be borne in 
mind that the horse clears the obstacle by its own 
act of will. Being trained to leap, it knows the 
right way to use its powers. The first essential for 

48 . 



JUMPING 

the rider, therefore, is to let the horse alone, and not 
interfere with it by some wrong position in the 
saddle or some wrong efifect of the reins. The 
important matter, then, is to gallop the horse 
straight at the obstacle, neither too fast nor too 




THE H0RSE,M0UNTED, LEAPS THE BAR DIRECTED BY 
THE LONGE 



slow; to feel the contact of the bit and yet permit 
freedom to the head and neck, not holding them 
too high or too low; and not to try to lift the horse's 
front hand, but, on the contrary, to push it forward 
during the entire movement by the pressure of the 
rider's legs upon the horse's flanks near the girths. 
Meanwhile the rider is to sit firm in his saddle, his 

49 



USUAL OR INSTINCTIVE EQUITATION 

body always perpendicular to the ground, his loins 
supple to neutralize the shock. 

No other part of horsemanship has given rise to 
more theories than has jumping. For no two horses 
jump just alike, nor do any two men ride in pre- 
cisely the same way. When, therefore, we consider 




^^^^*^< ^' 



THE HORSE JUMPS THE OBSTACLE MOUNTED AND UNDER 
CONTROL OF THE RIDER 

the different speeds, strides, and conformations 
of horses, with their differing energy, the special 
qualities of experience, seat, conformation, and 
tact of hand of riders, and the various conditions of 
ground, the excitement occasioned by the company, 
the variety in height, width, and stiffness of the 
obstacle to be passed, to say nothing of the tempo- 

50 



JUMPING 

rary physical and moral dispositions of both rider 
and horse, it clearly becomes impossible to lay 
down any invariable rule that shall make every 
jump invariably like every other. 

But after all is said, clearing an obstacle is 
largely a matter of confidence on the part of the 




THE HORSE COMES SQUARELY TO THE OBSTACLE AND 
JUMPS FRANKLY 

rider. A horse does not, of course, apprehend di- 
rectly the rider's morale. But he does appreciate to 
the full the lack of confidence of a rider who, on com- 
ing to the jump, stiffens himself, shifts in his sad- 
dle, or pulls against his horse's mouth; and it is this 
lack of confidence, thus communicated to the horse, 
that causes the animal to hesitate, refuse, or bolt. 

51 



USUAL OR INSTINCTIVE EQUITATION 

Successful training for the jump, in short, in- 
volves not only time and moderation, economy 
of physical and moral energy, attention to the 
animal's wind, a light weight increased progressively 
to the normal load to be carried, and frequent rests 
to avoid exhaustion. Not less essential are the 
trust of the horse in its own powers, its confidence 
in the rider, the confidence of the rider in his horse, 
and no undue interference with it. 

NOTE ON FIGURES OF MANEGE 

When the horse is performing well at walk, trot, 
and gallop, there is often much benefit, before 
taking up the jump, in practicing certain of the 
so-called figures of manege, such as the double, 
the change of direction, the circle and figure eight, 
the volte and half-volte. These are taken progres- 
sively, first at the walk, then at the trot, then at the 
gallop. 

In these movements, at the present stage of the 
rider's progress, the horse is kept to the straight 
line by means of the "lateral effect." Properly, 
however, this should be accomplished by the 
''diagonal effect," with which the ordinary rider is 
assumed not to be acquainted, and which he should 
not attempt to use until he has passed through the 
progressive training that belongs to this branch of 
equitation. The details of these figures are, there- 
fore, included in the chapters on the scientific 
equitation. 

52 



I 



PART II 
THE REASONED EQUITATION 

THE TRAINING OF THE SADDLE HORSE BY THE AID 

OF PRINCIPLES BASED ON THE EXPERIENCE OF 

MASTERS OF THE ART OF RIDING 



CHAPTER VIII 
THE REASONED EQUITATION 

We owe the reasoned equitation largely to Baucher. 
Before his day, even in ancient times, men had, 
indeed, an idea of the need of the state of equiHb- 
rium on the part of the horse; and they had 
tried, unsuccessfully, to obtain this by various 
methods, often complicated, and involving series 
of movements and also mechanical devices. Bau- 
cher not only created a system for obtaining the 
state of equilibrium; in addition, in his U Equitation 
Raisonnee, he set forth the principles on which the 
whole reasoned equitation is based. 

These are in brief: 

The state of equilibrium is not the result of any 
instincts of the horse; but, on the contrary, is 
imposed upon the horse by the rider, in the form of 
an increased muscular activity which the rider 
stimulates. 

The horse, compelled to the state of equilibrium 
by the man, is itself in a state of complete submis- 
sion, in which it cannot use its brute strength to 
resist its rider, but can nevertheless execute any 
natural movement with the least possible waste of 
energy. 

The weight of the man, also in equilibrium upon 

55 



THE REASONED EQUITATION 

the horse's back, is borne with the least possible 
effort, and with an ease for which the animal is 
manifestly grateful to its master. 

Now it is absolutely true that only as the result 
of training are the enormous powers of the horse 
brought under the man's intelligence, without 
violence and without physical or moral pain. The 
one is wise, the other is strong. The two form a 
friendly unit in which the brute is submissive and 
happy. But since the reasoned equitation follows 
a series of progressive exercises, in which the more 
advanced rest on those which precede, it is essential 
that the same rider use always the same horse, 
during the time necessary to complete its training. 

A sound and well-conformed animal, energetic 
but good-tempered, will be the easiest to train. A 
full bridle should be employed, with a bit of me- 
dium power, a Baucher snaffle, curb chain, and lip 
strap. The work on foot requires a three-foot whip. 
Later in the training, when the horse is mounted, 
spurs will be needed. A well-kept second-hand 
English saddle is better than a new one. 

Since the reasoned equitation has for its purpose 
to teach the rider both how to train his horse, and 
also how to ride a horse already trained in the 
system, it is useful for professional riding-masters 
and trainers, and for all civilians. But it is only 
after several years of the usual equitation that 
either the theory or the practice of the reasoned 
equitation becomes of any particular benefit. Bau- 

56 



THE REASONED EQUITATION 

cher wrote out his method primarily for cavalry 
officers and other professionals, and his principles 
are very complicated for an amateur to follow. I 
have, however, taught the reasoned equitation to 
a great number of amateur riders, both men and 
women. I have, in addition, simplified Baucher's 
theory and clarified his methods so that now the 
entire system is practical for amateur and profes- 
sional alike. 



CHAPTER IX 
BREAKING IN 

Breaking In, for the young horse, involves ac- 
quaintance with the trainer, so that it will come to 
him and follow him without fear or anxiety, accept 
the bridle without reluctance, stand quietly for 
mounting and dismounting, walk, trot, and gallop 
under the rider's weight without nervous tension, 
turn to either side by the rein, stop and stand still. 
That these movements should all be done perfectly, 
is not, however, so important as that the horse 
should be docile and quiet. 

This first portion of a horse's training does not 
need an experienced master. Any ordinary rider 
can manage it, provided only that he have persever- 
ance, patience, kindness, love for the animal, and a 
sufficiently good seat to resist the exuberance of a 
young horse. For a young horse is like a child, ig- 
norant, timid, anxious; and if the trainer is not 
indulgent, patient, and fond of the animal, sooner 
or later a little too much severity, the least touch 
of brutality, will reenforce this natural timidity, 
and produce restiveness and bad temper that the 
horse will never outgrow. Many a horse has been 
spoiled by unintelligent trainers. For the horse's 
memory is excellent, and very seldom does it forget 
harsh treatment. 

58 



BREAKING IN 

Baucher says, and I am of his opinion, that it 
needs uncommon discrimination on the part of an 
owner to pick the right man for breaking in a young 
horse. Indeed, to judge wisely the time required 
for the work, the state of progress of the young ani- 
mal and its muscular development, to reward obe- 
dience suitably, and to punish with wise moderation, 
demand a judgment and an experience that come 
near to talent. 

It is far eavsier to train a child than to reform a 
criminal: and it is the same with a young horse. 
But if the instructor lacks patience or kindness or 
experience, the child will revolt against his teachers, 
and the horse against its riders, and both will be 
permanently harmed. And since the breaking in is 
the beginning of a horse's education, the man who 
undertakes it can never have too much of each of 
these essential qualities. 

During the breaking in, a single bridoon should 
be used, rather than a full bridle. The chain and bit 
produce too powerful an effect on the mouth of a 
young horse, and it will not understand. Moreover, 
they cannot be managed properly during the rear- 
ing, kicking, and buck-jumping to which young 
horses are addicted. 

If the horse is nervous or violent, I employ the 
cavesson with the longe. The horse is saddled and 
bridled, the stirrups being raised against the saddle 
by a knot in the straps. The cavesson is put on over 
the bridle, the throat-latch tight enough to prevent 

59 



THE REASONED EQUITATION 

the cavesson from slipping and hurting the horse's 
eyes if the animal becomes violent. Around the 
saddle I buckle a surcingle, with two buckles and a 
little strap, to hold the reins when not in use, and to 
prevent their falling down in front of the animal's 




^:^--:;.r'r^r-^^ 



DUMB-JOCKEY, USED FOR TRAINING THE HORSE TO 
ACCEPT CONTACT OF THE BITS AT THE DIFFERENT GAITS 

legs. I have also two buckles on the headpiece of the 
cavesson; and two pairs of old reins, with holes at 
each end, equally spaced. One pair buckles to the 
cavesson and to the snaffle, the two sides just alike. 
The other ends of this pair fasten at the surcingle, 
the two reins of equal length. The second pair of 
reins attaches to the bit, without tension at first, 
but in due time fastened with the snaffle reins. 
All these straps being adjusted, I take the end of 

60 



BREAKING IN 

the longe in my left hand and back away to very 
nearly the full length, while an assistant holds the 




FIRST LESSON WITH THE LONGE 

horse's head. I stand at the center of the circle in 
which the horse is to travel, and show the long 
training whip, which I carry in my right hand. The 
assistant leads the horse a few steps around the 
circle to the left, then stops and caresses the animal 
on neck and head. 

When in this way the horse has traveled an entire 
circumference, the assistant lets go the bridle, and 
takes the longe with his left hand about three feet 
from the head. While the assistant continues to 
caress the horse with his right hand, the trainer, 
still holding the longe in his left hand, encourages 
the horse to continue around the circle, by chirping 
the tongue and showing the whip near the horse's 
hind legs, but without actually striking. After a 

6i 



THE REASONED EQUITATION 

few trials, the horse comprehends what is wanted, 
and goes forward at command. Thereupon, the 
assistant works progressively farther and farther 
along the longe away from the horse, until he lets 
go entirely. 

As the horse learns to travel around the circle 
under control of the trainer, it must learn also to 
stop on the line, without turning its body inward or 
outward. For this, the trainer swings his left hand 
up and down, so as to give a succession of mild jerks 
on the longe; at the same time, the assistant walks 
slowly along the longe to the horse's head, while 
the trainer, in a clear and commanding voice, calls, 
Hoho, Hoho. Whoa! As the horse stops, the as- 
sistant caresses it. At first the animal will turn its 
haunches outward from the circle. After a few les- 
sons, it will stop straight on the line. 

The trainer should always stand still at the center 
of the circle, never following the horse, but compel- 
ling the horse to go round him, to walk, trot, and 
stop as indicated, but not to come to the trainer 
unless summoned by a pull on the longe. 

An experienced trainer will very soon teach the 
horse to obey the whip. Shown near the flanks, it 
means to go to the right or left; at the hind hand, 
to go forward at the different gaits; in front of the 
face, to stop. Showing the whip straight, the lash 
upward, accompanied by a gentle tug on the longe, 
will bring the horse to the center. If the horse is 
then rewarded and caressed, the sight of the whip 

62 



BREAKING IN 

held vertically will alone be sufficient without the 
pull on the longe. 

At the beginning of this work, the reins should 
not be at all tight. It is, however, impossible to lay 
down any rules as to their precise tension. An 
experienced trainer judges, by the animal's temper, 
conformation, energy, length of neck, and sensi- 
bility of mouth, what the effect of the bits will be. 
In fact, an experienced trainer could fill ten volumes 
with accounts of the diversities among horses and 
the various difficulties that he has encountered and 
overcome. Something less than this, however, con- 
fined to principles and method, will better please 
the publisher and hearten the reader. 

Three months is sufficient, by this method, for 
breaking a horse to the lateral equitation. But if 
the horse is mounted from the beginning, it will 
take at least a year, often longer. 

When the young animal has made sufficient 
progress with longe and breaking-strap, the sur- 
cingle is removed, and the horse, standing still, is 
mounted and dismounted by the assistant, the 
trainer meanwhile holding the longe near the head. 
After this, the assistant being mounted, the trainer 
sends the horse around the circle as before, walking, 
stopping, trotting, cantering, while the assistant, 
under the direction of the trainer, applies the proper 
effects of legs and bridle. All this should be done 
both to the right and to the left, as explained in the 
discussion of figures of manege. 

63 



THE REASONED EQUITATION 

As soon as the horse has become calm and 
obedient while the hands of the assistant feel a 
gentle contact with the mouth through the rein, 
the cavesson likewise is removed; and the trainer, 
now mounting for himself, begins progressive work 




LESSON, MOUNTED, WITH THE LONGE 

Upon the several gaits, first on a straight line, 
afterwards at the figures of manege, but always, 
without exception, by means of the lateral effects, 
It is best, when possible, to keep the horse for a 
year at the breaking in and the lateral effects, 
before going on to the reasoned equitation. By that 
time horse and trainer better know one another, 
the horse is stronger, steadier, and better able to 
profit by the suppling of the flexions. Moreover, 
the young or inexperienced trainer is very likely to 

64 



BREAKING IN 

push his horse's education too hard, and to neglect 
some items which do not seem important to him. 
The result is that there comes a time when the 
trainer has to go back and pick up these neglected 
elements. 

Often, too, it happens that a horse, well trained 
by a master, is ridden by some one without eques- 
trian tact, and has to go back to the master to be 
retrained. Sometimes, also, a man buys a horse 
which has already been ridden, but in accordance 
with some other method than his own; and since 
the memory of the horse is very persistent, the 
training may have to be started over again from 
the foundation. 

In all these cases the trainer needs to be expe- 
rienced, patient, persevering, energetic, and posi- 
tive, besides having a genuine affection for his pupil. 
No two horses are alike in conformation or morale, 
nor in the results of their first contact with man. The 
trainer needs, therefore, to diagnose his animal, to 
consider his strong and weak points, so as to pick 
the right place for the training to begin. If, for 
example, a horse is anxious and timid, before I do 
anything else, I give it confidence, by means of work 
on foot with the whip. If it is young and not strong. 
I develop its muscles by means of the cavesson with 
the Bussigny breaking-straps. 

One ought, in a word, to study his horse, find out 
its special needs, and commence the education by 
removing the causes of its imperfections. Meth- 

65 



THE REASONED EQUITATION 

odists, as a whole, are too sure of their general 
principles. They want to have every horse put 
through the hard-and-fast progression of their 
particular method. But my experience is that each 
individual horse has its own physical and moral 
disposition, and that each needs its own special 
treatment and training. 

This much, at any rate, is certain: no matter how 
the horse's education commences or proceeds, the 
earlier portions of it will need more care, more 
ability, and more experience on the part of the 
trainer than the later ones. 1 am, then, fully agreed 
with Baucher in his criticism of owners who give 
young horses to their stable grooms to train. And 
yet, in Baucher's time, equitation was in high 
esteem. Whereas now horsemanship is almost a lost 
art, and riding is thought of merely as a wholesome 
exercise. 



CHAPTER X 
REWARDS AND PUNISHMENTS 

Caresses and other rewards are the first means by 
which the trainer makes the horse understand that 
it has nothing to fear when under control. A horse 
is by nature timid and anxious; the first step in its 
training is to give it confidence and to make it 
understand that it will meet no ill usage. When 
that is accomplished, the horse is tamed. As yet, 
however, it knows nothing. Its education advances 
by means of rewards when it does well, and by 
punishments when it fails to do something that it 
has already been taught. 

Caressing may be done with the hand alone, or 
with the voice, or by the two in conjunction. Early 
in the training, it is better to employ both together, 
so that each may help to make the other understood. 
After the horse gets the idea, it is better to use only 
one at a time. 

When the man is on foot, he commonly caresses 
the horse by passing his hand over the forehead be- 
low the forelock, always in the direction of the hair. 
But the horse should become accustomed to caress- 
ing on other parts of the body — neck, shoulders, 
loins, abdomen, haunches, and legs. The fingers 
should be extended and the full hand used, not 

67 



THE REASONED EQUITATION 

merely the finger-tips. The horse is thankful for a 
generous caress with heart in it. 

On the other hand, the horse should not be 
slapped too strongly. A nervous animal, especially, 
is likely to interpret this as a reproof. 

Caressing by the voice is entirely a matter of 
softness of tone. The animal has no idea whatever 
of the meaning of the words. 

With the horse in motion, whether walking, 
trotting, or galloping, whenever the rider feels it 
becoming anxious at the sight of some object or at 
some noise, or hesitating before an obstacle to be 
cleared, he commonly employs the voice to quiet or 
encourage the animal, since the hands are busy with 
the reins. But standing still, or whenever, in mo- 
tion, the rider can manage the reins with one hand, 
the free hand should caress the particular part of 
the body which has obeyed the rider's signals or 
been the chief factor in the movement. If the neck 
has played the leading part, caress the neck. If the 
croup, caress the haunches or loins. By this means 
the horse is trained to associate the aids and signals 
of the rider with the part of the body which is to 
carry out the command. 

In general, a reward given during the act of 
obedience is more effective than one administered 
later. It is, therefore, often wise to repeat a move- 
ment, already executed correctly, for the sake of 
giving the caress during the actual performance. 
But after a difficult movement, well performed, it 

68 



REWARDS AND PUNISHMENTS 

is often best to dismount, take off the bridle, give a 
carrot, an apple, or a piece of sugar, and dismiss the 
pupil to the stable. 

Punishments, in the horse's education, are no less 
important than rewards. These ought always to be 
administered fairly and justly, with decision, but 
without impatience, calmly and with self-restraint, 
and with a sentiment of regretful loyalty on the 
part of the man. 

The means of correction are four: the spurs (to be 
discussed later), the whip, the voice, and the hand. 
The whip is especially effective. It is used with 
sharp but not severe stroke, upon any part of the 
body, but never on the head. After the training has 
made some progress, the effect of the whip is 
augmented if, along with the stroke, the trainer 
speaks in a sharp, guttural tone. A man working 
his horse on foot can make a strong impression by 
looking the animal straight in the eyes, with a 
severe countenance, while he speaks harshly with 
the voice. After this, the whip may be suppressed, 
and the rebuke given by a severe slap of the hand, 
accompanied by the threatening tone. The same 
method may then be used mounted. 

When the horse has learned to expect punishment 
when it misbehaves and rewards when it does well, 
and to trust its rider always, it is well on the road of 
a progressive and thorough education. 



CHAPTER XI 
THE FIRST WORK ON FOOT 

The breaking in has for its object merely to accus- 
tom the young horse to the feeHng of harness, girths, 
and saddle, and to the beginnings of control by the 
trainer. The early work on foot is but a continua- 
tion of the breaking in. Its object is to lead the 
green animal to understand the various contacts 
and effects, of which, of course, he is, at the begin- 
ning, completely ignorant. By this preliminary 
work on foot, we educate the horse to submit to the 
contact of the bits, which at first cause an anxiety 
which must be completely overcome. 

The horse, saddled and bridled, is led to the spot 
selected for the first lesson. The stirrups are raised 
on the saddle, and the snaffle reins are passed 
forward over the head, and held in the left han,d of 
the trainer, who stands in front facing the animal, 
the whip in his right hand. The man speaks 
soothingly, exhibits the whip, and with it caresses 
the horse's forehead, nostrils, ears, and both sides 
of the neck. (Figure i.) 

At first, the horse will be uneasy. But shortly he 
becomes calm, finding that no pain follows the 
touch of the whip, and encouraged by the man's 
voice and his complete immobility. Thereupon, the 

70 




Figure i . the horse sees and feels the whip 

WITHOUT FEAR 




Figure 2. contact of the bits with the mouth by 
the whip on the flank 




Figure 3. contact of the bits with the mouth by 

THE WHIP UPON the CHEST 



THE FIRST WORK ON FOOT 

trainer raises the whip, and stepping backward, he 
pulls lightly on the two snaffle reins. When, by this 
means, the trainer obtains two or three forward 
steps, he immediately caresses the animal by voice 
and hand. After a few days of this training, the 
horse will, of its own accord, advance toward its 
master as soon as the whip is lifted to the height of 
its head. As soon as this happens, the pupil should 
be caressed with the whip on shoulder, chest, croup, 
and all four legs. 

When the horse no longer has the slightest fear of 
man or whip, the time has come to teach the animal 
to move forward in response to other effects. The 
trainer, facing forward, stands at the horse's left 
shoulder. In his right hand he holds the two snaffle 
reins, three inches from the horse's chin; and in his 
left hand he carries the whip, the lash behind and 
near the horse's flank. In this position he impels 
the horse to walk forward by light touches of the 
whip on the flanks near the girths. (Figure 2.) 

At this point the horse will sometimes hesitate, 
or even try to back. But the trainer, remaining 
always calm, encourages the animal with his voice, 
which the horse already knows. By drawing 
forward steadily with his right hand, he should 
always succeed in obtaining a few forward steps. 
These, if well recompensed by caresses, will very 
soon be followed by more at the same signal. 

If the horse manifests irritability or violence, the 
trainer should pass the snaffle reins forward over its 

71 



THE REASONED EQUITATION 

head, and while holding them with the right hand 
near the chin as before, he should also take them 
near their ends with his left hand, which holds the 
whip. If, then, any violent movement of the horse 
forces the trainer to let go the reins with his right 
hand, he still has the other grip to fall back on. 

As soon as the horse advances readily and takes 
the contact of the snaffle bit against the lower jaw, 
the training is to be repeated from the other side. 
When the contact is accepted freely with the 
snafifle, the same course is repeated with the bit. In 
this case the little finger of the left hand separates 
the two reins of the bit, and the ends of these reins 
leave the hand between the forefinger and the 
thumb. The snafifle reins, on the contrary, enter 
the hand between the forefinger and the thumb, 
and pass out at the little finger. All five digits close 
upon the four reins. 

From this position the trainer urges the horse 
forward with the whip, as before, against the snafifle. 
Then, when the horse is moving, he substitutes the 
contact of the snaffle for that of the bit, by bending 
the wrist to carry the thumb forward and the little 
finger backward. This movement of the hand must 
be done very gently and carefully. When the con- 
tact can be made with the trainer on the left side, 
the same operation must be repeated from the 
right, with everything reversed. 

This procedure is advocated by Fillis, who holds 
that the whip, acting upon the flank, will help to 

72 



THE FIRST WORK ON FOOT 

make the horse understand the action of the rider's 
legs, at the later stage when the animal is mounted. 
In this, Fillis is essentially right. 

Baucher's practice is somewhat different. He 
faces the horse, taking, at first, the two snafBe reins 
in his left hand, and later, bit reins and snaffle reins 
alternately. With the whip, held in his right hand, 
he makes light touches on the horse's chest. The 
horse, thereupon, backs. But as the touches 
continue, the horse, finding backing of no avail, 
decides to go forward. It is thereupon rewarded 
with caresses, until, very shortly, merely showing 
the whip near the chest will obtain forward move- 
ment and contact with the bits. (Figure 3.) 



CHAPTER XII 
THE FLEXIONS 

The horse, when not under the control of the man, 
balances himself instinctively by different positions 
of head and neck. But the horse under control has 
these various positions given to him by his rider, by 
way of the bits. But the feeling of the bits in his 
mouth is disagreeable to the horse. The result is a 
tendency to contract and to keep tense the muscles 
which close the lower jaw, on which the bits rest. 
This disagreeable sensation tends, moreover, to 
affect the entire body, and to produce a general 
condition of contraction, opposition, and refusal. 

The object of the flexions is, by means of certain 
graduated exercises, to teach the horse that no real 
pain will follow these uncomfortable sensations, 
and to suppress their general accompaniments, 
while accustoming the animal to obey their special 
effects. 

The hands holding the reins can, by different 
positions and manipulations, produce on the 
animal mechanism a great variety of effects, of 
which the three principal are, directing, raivsing, 
and maintaining. The work of the flexions will 
introduce the horse to these different effects, which 
later, after the rider is mounted, will be further 
complicated by the effects of the legs. 

74 



THE FLEXIONS 

A brief consideration of the bones, joints, and 
muscles involved in the flexions will help in avoid- 
ing certain mistakes. 

The bars, on which rest the bits, are the distal 
part of the lower jaw, between the molar teeth and 
the incisors. In conformation they are of three 
types. In one sort the bone is small, and covered 
by a thin mucous membrane. Such bars are said 
to be "sharp," and are especially sensitive to the 
pressure of the bits. Another sort has a large bone, 
somewhat flattened where it meets the bits, and 
covered with thick mucous membrane. This sort 
is commonly little sensitive, and is described as 
"fleshy." The best type of bar is intermediate be- 
tween the two. 

The temporo-maxillary articulation which con- 
nects the lower jaw with the skull lies between the 
ears and the eyes, just behind the frontal bone. 
It allows the jaw, moved by the digastricus, mas- 
seter, and temporalis muscles, to open and shut, to 
move laterally for mastication, and to glide back 
and forth. This joint plays an important part in 
equitation. 

Another important set of bones are the verte- 
brae of the neck. The first cervical vertebra, the 
atlas, 'articulates with the occipital bone of the 
skull. Next to it comes the axis. These two verte- 
brae form the atlo-axoid articulation which permits 
the head to rotate upon the axis, this remaining 
fixed. The occipito-atloid articulation, on the other 

75 



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77 



THE REASONED EQUITATION 

hand, permltsfour motions, extension, flexion, lateral 
inclination, and circumduction. Its movements are 
given by the muscles of the neck, ohliquus capitis, 
sterno-maxillaris, rectus capitis, scalenus, longus coli, 
splenius, and angularis scapulce. All these muscles are 
either attached or related to the three other muscles 
which work the lower jaw. They are, therefore, 
most intimately concerned in the position which is 
given to the head and neck, through the sensation 
of the bits on the bars. It is the position of the 
head and neck which is the object of the flexions. 
Two other especially powerful muscles of the 
neck are concerned primarily with locomotion. 
The rhomboideus is connected at the atlas region 
with the other muscles of the head and neck; but 
when this atlas region is fixed, it draws the 
shoulder forward and upward. It is, therefore, 
related to the scapulo-angularis and latissimus 
dorsi of the chest. The other large muscle, the 
mastoido-humeralis, has also one of its ends at the 
atlas region, and the other at the shoulder and 
chest. When the atlas region is fixed, at the same 
time that the rhomboideus lifts the fore leg, the 
mastoido-humeralis carries it forward. But if the 
chest region is the fixed point, this muscle draws 
the head and neck to one side. It is by means of 
the flexions that we obtain for these two muscles 
the fixed point in the atlas region. When the horse 
accepts contact of the bits on the bars, the rider 
controls directly the muscles of the head, and 

78 



THE FLEXIONS 

indirectly those of the neck. Thus by the continual 
communication of this indirect effect, which in its 
turn, emanates from the first direct effect of the bits 
on the bars, the rider controls also the action of the 
front limbs. 

Here, then, is the theory of so much of the animal 
mechanism as is exercised by the flexions. I urge 
the trainer, at this point, to regard as essential 
the character of the flexion obtained by his work, 
rather than its amount. The important matter is 
not that the horse shall bend its neck more or less 
readily, but that it shall respond with head and 
neck to the tension of the reins; that it does not 
cease this tension of its own will, but while keeping 
the contact of the bits, shall obey this tension 
consistently. 

It is desirable for the horse's education, not to 
commence this work of the flexions unless there is 
to be time to complete it. Further consideration of 
the bones, joints, and muscles involved in locomo- 
tion will be found under the caption, "Legs and 
Their Effects," the same illustrations serving for 
fore hand, trunk, and hind hand. 

The masters of equitation before Baucher had 
already employed a system of flexions for suppling 
the neck; but they failed to recognize the impor- 
tance of a further suppling of the mouth. Baucher, 
in his reasoned equitation, saw the need of suppling 
the mouth also, and developed a series of flexions 
for both the mouth and the neck. 

79 



THE REASONED EQUITATION 

Fillis objects to the execution of Baucher's 
flexions on the ground that he bends the neck at 
the region of the third vertebra and not at the atlas 
region. The series of flexions by Baucher is very 
complicated, those of Fillis are very strenuous; the 
two are difficult of execution for a young trainer. 

To remedy these difficulties, I have created a 
series of flexions similar as to object to those of the 
two grand masters, but more easy of execution and 
sufficiently comprehensive for the trainer and the 
horse. The first condition, sine qua non, is to teach 
the horse to sustain the head and neck high up, by its 
own effort and without the help of the trainer. To 
obtain this result, the trainer places himself facing 
the head of the horse, holding the left snaffle rein in 
his right hand and the right rein in his left. By 
raising his two hands straight upwards, not back- 
ward or forward, the horse will raise head and neck. 
(Figure 4.) When the head and neck are up, the 
trainer opens the fingers of the two hands main- 
tained at the same height; but if the horse drops its 
head or neck, the trainer shuts his fingers quickly. 
The flexion is complete only when the horse holds 
the head up without help. (Figure 5.) It then 
becomes a question of obtaining the flexion of the 
mouth without letting the head change the high 
position. For this flexion, the trainer, facing the 
head and neck from the left, and holding the right 
rein of the bit in his right hand and the left rein in 
his left, causes a pressure on the right bar by 

80 




Figure 4. flexion for bringing up the head and neck 

AND MAKING THE HORSE LIGHT 




Figure 5. the horse light in hand 




Figure 6. flexion of the lower jaw to the right 

BY THE CURB BIT 




Figure 7. completion of the direct flexion 



THE FLEXIONS 

the right hand, which, acting progressively, forces 
the horse to open its mouth. The head is sHghtly 
incHned to the right, but sustained high, the 
sHghtest derangement of the head or neck being 
corrected by the left rein held in the left hand, 
which is carried upward, downward, forward, to 
the right or to the left, according to the effect 
necessary to correct the false position taken by the 
head or neck in resisting or preventing the proper 
position and flexion. (Figure 6.) 

When the depression of the lower jaw is obtained, 
the head being lightly inclined to the right, the 
trainer, by carrying his left hand progressively 
backward, places the head straight, always continu- 
ing the flexion of the mouth. When the head and 
neck are inclined to the right or to the left, the 
flexion is called the right or left lateral flexion. The 
flexion is called direct when the head and neck 
are straight. The two lateral flexions are only the 
means for obtaining the direct flexion, which is 
only complete when the horse depresses its lower 
jaw. (Figure 7.) The effect of the bits upon the 
mouth and neck produces a cause and effect. The 
mouth refuses because the neck resists, the neck 
refuses because the mouth resists. This difficulty is 
found in the different conformations, and to obvi- 
ate it, the alternate flexions of mouth and neck are 
the proper work. 

For the flexions of the neck, the trainer places 
himself on the horse's left side near the head, takes 

81 



THE REASONED EQUITATION 

the right rein of the bit with his right hand and the 
left rein of the snafHe with his left hand. The flex- 
ion of the mouth is obtained by the right rein and 
the flexion of the neck by the left hand carried to 
the right over the nostrils of the horse. (Figure 8.) 
The lateral flexion of the neck is complete when 
the head is turned facing to the right. After the 
lateral flexion of the neck, the head is to return to 
the direct flexion, by the rein or reins of the snaflle. 
If the horse has a thick, short, and fleshy neck, it is 
proper to enforce more bending from the neck. For 
that purpose the trainer places himself on the right 
side of the horse for the lateral flexion to the left, 
holds the right rein of the snaflie in the right hand 
and the left rein in the left hand. The left rein, 
bearing upon the neck, is kept at the same tension 
by the left hand, assuming that the right hand 
allows the head to flex to the left and follows the 
head in its flexion backward, so that, by raising 
the right hand, the head is maintained perpendicu- 
lar and flexed at the atlas. (Figure 9.) 

This position of the head flexed perpendicularly 
has to be obtained by moderate progress, passing 
from the position in Figure 9 to that shown in Fig- 
ure 10, and finally to that obtained by the bit alone 
in Figure 11. 

After arriving at this stage, the trainer continues 
the direct flexion of mouth and neck. The two reins 
of the bit are held in the left hand, and the two 
reins of the snaffle in the right, the forefingers 

82 




Figure 8. flexion of neck and lower jaw by the 

CURB BIT 




Figure 9. flexion of neck and mouth by the 

SNAFFLE REINS 




Figure lo. flexion of the lower jaw by the curb bit 

AND OF THE NECK BY THE SNAFFLE REINS 




Figure 1 1 . flexion of the neck by the snaffle and of 

THE LOWER JAW BY THE CURB BIT 



THE FLEXIONS 

between each pair of reins. The left hand operates 
a progressive but continual tension upon the bit, 
while the right hand corrects with the snaffle the 
false position possible at the beginning and thus 
secures the flexion at the atlas only. (Figure 12.) 
The flexion is completed when the mouth is open. 

Finally, to obtain proof of the quality of my work 
of flexions, the horse straight, the head up and light, 
and yet in contact with my hands, I place myself 
facing the horse, the left reins of snaffle and bit in 
my right hand, the right reins in my left hand, and 
by a progressive and moderate action of my two 
hands, I obtain the direct flexion of mouth and 
neck, the horse keeping the same position of body. 
(Figure 13.) At the completion of the flexion, the 
horse is upon the hand, with the lower jaw com- 
pletely depressed. (Figure 14.) The flexions have 
to be executed equally to the right and to the 
left by the same principles, but by the opposite 
means. 

In explaining above the principles of the flexions, 
I have changed sides several times in order to make 
it possible for the photographer to reproduce on 
the plate the position of hands, reins, head, and 
neck, so they will be more apparent to the reader. 

The next step is to secure lightness. The trainer 
stands facing his horse, with the right snaffle rein 
in his left hand, and the left rein in his right. By 
repeated vibrations he raises progressively the head 
and neck, until, after a few lessons, the horse re- 

83 



THE REASONED EQUITATION 

mains straight and still, head and neck elevated, 
without the help of snaffle or bit. 

As soon as this position of lightness is obtained, 
comes the flexions of the jaw. The trainer, holding 
as before the two snaffle reins, makes very light 
oppositions, but without allowing the head or neck 
to drop. Now begins the "fingering." By this I 
mean the repeated, rhythmic opening and shut- 
ting of the mouth: mouth shut, bit contact, fingers 
closed on the reins; then mouth open and fingers 
unclosed, the hand always at the same height. 

When the lower jaw is depressed squarely at the 
effect of the snaffle, the trainer repeats the same 
exercise, holding in each hand a rein of the snaffle 
and one of the bit. The snaffle maintains the 
position of head and neck, while the bit controls 
the depression of the jaw. But the effect of the two, 
especially of the snaffle, is peculiarly upon the atlo- 
axoid articulation. 

But while this flexion is the most Important of all, 
it is nevertheless so entirely at the atlo-axoid joint 
that the rhomhoideus and mastoido-humeralis mus- 
cles are so completely contracted that they do not, 
in this condition, gain the development which is 
desirable and which is so noticeable in the neck of 
"Why-Not." 

For all this work, especially, I recommend 
patience, perseverance, and slow advance. What 
counts for the future is the quality of the perform- 
ance. The quantity is a small and temporary matter. 

84 



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Figure 12. direct flexion of the lower jaw by the 

CURB BIT AND OF THE NECK BY THE SNAFFLE REINS 




Figure 13. direct flexion of neck and lower jaw 

WITH LIGHTNESS OF THE FRONT HAND 




Figure 14. direct flexion of mouth and neck by the 

SNAFFLE ONLY 



THE FLEXIONS 

The series given above is sufficient to teach the 
rider the manipulation of the reins, and to train 
the horse to yield by mouth and neck to the effects 
of the bits. Many other flexions have been worked 
out by methodists to meet special difficulties of 
conformation and temper. But such a variety of 
cases is outside the limits of this book. Those which 
have been given, done first on foot and then 
mounted, are quite sufficient for suppling neck and 
mouth. 



CHAPTER XIII 
BACKING AND THE PIROUETTES 

The pirouettes are revolutions of one end of the 
horse's body about the other. In the direct pirou- 
ette, the hind feet remain in place, while the fore 
feet circle around them, either to the right or to the 
left. In the reversed pirouette, called rotation by 
the new school, the shoulders are the fixed point 
and the haunches turn around them. 

The reversed pirouette is the first movement 
of the reasoned equitation. It is also the most 
important, since on its correct and symmetrical 
execution the entire education depends. It has, 
moreover, three stages: the reversed pirouette in 
lateral, which belongs to the lateral equitation; 
the direct rotation, which belongs to the reasoned 
equitation; and that in diagonal, which belongs to 
the scientific equitation. The three terms, lateral, 
direct, and diagonal, refer to the lateral, direct, and 
diagonal effects by which the movement is ob- 
tained. 

The first step in the horse's education is, of course, 
the position of "in hand"; which has already been 
considered in the account of the flexions, and will 
be discussed still further in Chapter XXII. Up to 
this point the horse has been trained to take the 
position given by the rider's hand while standing 

86 



BACKING AND THE PIROUETTES 

still. It does not yet understand how to move 
its weight on its feet, and at the same time, to re- 
main in hand. The grand masters have, therefore, 
spoken of the direct and reversed pirouettes as the 
mobilization, respectively, of the front and hind 
hands. 

' THE REVERSED PIROUETTE 

If the horse has been given the work with the 
trainer on foot, already described, the reversed 
pirouette should also be taught on foot. If the 
training is done in a manege, the animal should be 
in the center of the ring. I shall discuss first the 
reversed pirouette in lateral from right to left. 

The trainer stands on the horse's right, between 
head and shoulder. The right hand holds three 
reins, two from the bit, with the little finger 
between them, and the right snaffle rein, which 
passes from the thumb to the little finger. But the 
snaffle rein is held shorter than the rest. The whip 
is held in the left hand, with the lash near the 
horse's right flank. 

By means of the reins from the bit, the trainer 
holds the horse in hand, and at the same time, with 
the snaffle rein, he obtains a partial lateral flexion 
to the right. He calms the animal by his voice, and 
still keeping the "in hand," he keeps touching the 
right flank lightly with the whip. 

Commonly, at this, the horse will either back or 
raise the right hind leg. If the horse backs, the 

87 



THE REASONED EQUITATION 

trainer will correct the fault by carrying forward 
the reins. But if the horse merely lifts the right 
hind leg, showing neither fear nor impatience, then 
the trainer is satisfied and rewards the action with 
caresses. After a brief relaxation, the action is re- 
peated from the beginning. 

Sooner or later, however, the animal, instead of 
merely lifting the right foot, will, in addition, carry 
it to the left, under the body, and set it down more 
or less in front of the left foot. In that position, 
before the right hind foot can be lifted again, the 
left hind foot must also gain ground leftward. 
(Figure 15.) 

This is the first step of the reversed pirouette, 
the beginning of the mobilization of the hind hand. 
In a short while, the horse comes to understand that 
when its right flank is touched with the whip, it is 
to lift the right foot and step toward the left. After 
the first step, the second, third, and fourth are 
readily obtained in the same way. Four such steps, 
done in proper cadence, are enough. More will 
disturb the support of the front legs, and will 
distress the horse, since they are against its natural 
conformation. 

Meanwhile, of course, the horse will have lost 
the "in hand" position. The only remedy is 
patience, perseverance, and quality of work. You, 
Master, are the instructor. You are teaching to 
your pupil the alphabet of locomotion. On this 
foundation, your pupil may, in time, become a most 

88 




Figure 15. rotation of the croup with direct flexion 

OF NECK AND JAW 




Figure 16. rotation of the croup with diagonal 

FLEXION OF neck AND JAW 



BACKING AND THE PIROUETTES 

uncommon animal. Do not forget that your whip 
has still to be replaced by legs and spurs. So do not 
hurry. Take ample time, remembering that the 
more time you take at this stage, while still main- 
taining the quality of your work, the faster progress 
you will make in the end. 

When the lateral rotation is thoroughly mastered 
to the left, everything is reversed and the move- 
ment made toward the right. 

In the reversed pirouette, as also in the passage, 
the trainer must not, under any condition, allow 
the horse to begin the movement by stepping off 
with the hind leg on the side toward which the 
motion is to be made. If, for example, the step is 
to be toward the left, the right hind foot must first 
cross over in front of the left. After that, the left 
foot steps still farther to the left. But the left foot 
must never move first. In other words, the legs 
always cross, never straddle. 

I cannot insist too strongly on this point. Bau- 
cher followed and taught the opposite method, and 
it gave rise to much confusion in his principles. 
Moreover, it occasioned terrible fights against 
horses trained by him, which became confused by 
the effects of the legs. 

When the reversed pirouette is correctly executed 
in lateral, it can next be readily obtained with the 
direct flexion of "in hand." For this, the pull on 
one snaffle rein is suppressed, and the horse's head 
and neck are held straight, while the four steps of 

89 



THE REASONED EQUITATION 

the movement are asked by means of the whip. 
(Figure i6.) 

The reversed pirouette in diagonal belongs to 
the scientific equitation, and will be taken up with 
that subject. 

THE DIRECT PIROUETTE 

The direct pirouette, usually termed simply the 
pirouette, is the first movement for mobilizing 
the front hand. Assuming for convenience of 
description that the movement is ^toward the left, 
the action is as follows: 

The left hind leg becomes the chief support of 
the hind hand, while the right hind foot, as in the 
reversed pirouette, passes in front of it to the left. 
Then, in its turn, the left rear foot, without in the 
least altering its place on the ground, turns on 
the same spot to face in the new direction. These 
two alternate, the right foot really stepping round 
the left. 

Meanwhile, the right fore foot passes in front of 
the left, thus crossing the fore legs. As soon as this 
has taken the weight, the left fore foot moves off 
to the left, and restores the first relation. In this 
manner the fore hand walks round the left hind foot. 
For movement in the other direction, everything is, 
of course, reversed. 

To obtain this pirouette to the left, the trainer 
stands on the horse's right side, as for the reversed 
pirouette, facing to the rear. In his right hand he 

90 



BACKING AND THE PIROUETTES 

holds the two snaffle reins close behind the chin. 
The whip is in his left hand, lash near the horse's 
flank. 

The horse being held straight and "in hand," 
the trainer, with his right hand, pushes the ani- 
mal's head straight to the left, while, at the same 
time, by means of the whip, he checks the natural 
movement of the haunches toward the right. Thus, 
by pushing the fore hand round in one direction, 
and at the same time preventing the hind hand 
from circling after it, the trainer soon obtains the 
first step of the pirouette. Then follows the usual 
pause and caressing; and shortly, the animal learns 
to complete the action. After this, the direction is 
reversed. 

BACKING 

The pirouette has now taught the horse to mobil- 
ize the fore hand. The reversed pirouette or revo- 
lution has taken care of the hind hand. There still 
remains the mobilization of the entire length of 
the spine, from the atlas region to the last of the 
sacral vertebrae. While this remains straight and 
rigid, correct locomotion is not possible. 

Flexion of the spine hinges on the "coupling" 
between the last dorsal vertebra and the first sacral, 
which has to bend with each step forward, side- 
wise, or backward. Unfortunately, this articula- 
tion tends to become ankylosed with advancing age, 
and even in a young animal the unnatural load of 

91 



THE REASONED EQUITATION 

the rider tends to stiffen the joint. Both causes 
interfere with free movement, and occasion kicking, 
rearing, and buck-jumping. 

It is, therefore, essential, during the work on 
foot, to complete the mobilization of the entire 
body by exercise in backing to supple the coupling. 

Some authors advise, for this purpose, having 
the trainer stand in front of the horse, facing it, 
and with one rein in each hand, either of bit or 
snaffle, pushing the animal backward by "sawing" 
back and forth on the bridle. Fillis advocates 
having the man, in addition, step on the horse's 
feet, first on one, then on the other, as the sawing 
goes on. 

But how, I ask. Is the horse to understand that 
it is to flex its spinal column, just because some- 
body saws its mouth or walks on its feet? I myself 
proceed in quite a different manner. I put my horse 
straight, right side near a wall, " at left hand," as it 
is called. I stand at the shoulder, whip in my right 
hand, snaffle reins in my left. With the whip, I 
touch the back close behind the saddle, repeating 
several times, very gently, never at all violently or 
severely. Meanwhile, I pull lightly on the snaffle 
reins. Commonly, within two minutes, the horse 
lifts one hind foot. If at this moment 1 pull 
on the reins, I hinder with my left hand the move- 
ment forward of this leg, which will at once be car- 
ried backward. The diagonal front leg will at once 
follow, and I have obtained the first step. Caress- 

92 



BACKING AND THE PIROUETTES 

ings on the croup with the right hand, accompanied 
by the voice, soon make the horse comprehend what 
is desired. A single one-hour lesson is sufficient to 
teach the creature to go backwards, the coupling 
supple, at the touch of the whip behind the saddle 
and the gentle tension on the reins. The movement 
should then be repeated from the right side, reins 
in the right hand, whip in the left. 

This movement backward, alternated with the 
other movements, forward, pirouette, and reversed 
pirouette, will very soon bring about a state of 
complete obedience on the part of the horse. The 
man, on his side, begins to see the effects of the 
various means which he is employing and to under- 
stand the operation of the animal mechanism. 

During the work on foot, if the horse is uneasy 
from need of exercise, put him at the cavesson and 
longe, preferably without bridle. 

A last word: Patience and gentleness; do not for- 
get that you teach, you educate. 



CHAPTER XIV 
THE HANDLING OF THE REINS 

Before proceeding to the further training of the 
horse with the rider mounted, it is necessary to 
consider more fully than under the instinctive 
equitation, the position of the rider's hands and 
the manipulation of the reins. 

No fixed position of the hands is correct for all 
occasions. What it should be in each special case 
depends on the degree of education of the horse, 
on its action, sensitiveness, temper, conduct. It 
varies with the surroundings, the gait at which the 
animal is traveling, the character of the road, the 
state of submission or disobedience. It is modified 
also by the ability of the rider. It alters from mo- 
ment to moment with the change of circumstances. 
All that one can do, therefore, is to give the gen- 
eral principles involved, and the standard position 
from which variants are taken as conditions change. 

Let us, then, suppose a horse, well conformed, 
properly trained, and quiet, ridden at the prome- 
nade trot, by a good ordinary rider with a good 
seat, in street, road, bridle path, or manege, but with- 
out all the paraphernalia and impedimenta gener- 
ally met with in such conditions. In such a case, the 
hand will be carried six inches above the pommel, 
the little finger down and slightly nearer the body 

94 



THE HANDLING OF THE REINS 

than the thumb. The thumb is up and closed upon 
the four reins, which fall forward of the hand and 
to the left, when, as is usual, the reins are in the left 
hand. The fingers touch the palm at the nails, 
pressing with just enough force to prevent slipping. 
The hand is exactly opposite the middle of the 
body, and exactly in line with the horse's neck. 
The elbow touches the side without stiffness or 
pressure. 

When, for any reason, the hand is moved from 
this position, one inch upward, downward, or side- 
wise, is in general sufficient for the full effect of 
the change. If for any reason, some other position 
has to be taken for the sake of conduct or control, 
what this new position shall be is decided by 
practice and experience according to the particular 
circumstance. If, for example, the horse rears, 
the hand should be dropped as low as possible, the 
rider leaning forward. If, on the other hand, the 
horse kicks, then the hand is lifted as high as 
possible, while the rider leans back and lifts the 
animal's head. 

For the rider on a side-saddle, the position is 
the same, except that the hand is two or three 
inches above the right thigh. 

During the process of training a horse, the posi- 
tion of the hand varies so greatly that no rules can 
be given. The master will, therefore, vary his 
position to meet special problems of mouth or neck 
or of the two together, and all the various contrac- 

95 



THE REASONED EQUITATION 

tions and defenses of the horse, as his experience 
suggests. 

In ordinary civilian equitation, in the case of 
men and occasionally even in the case of amazons, 
there is really no particular reason why the reins 
should be held with the left hand rather than with 
the right. But the army man, the hunter, the polo 
player, and the woman who uses her whip to 
produce the effects of a right leg, are obliged, 
naturally, to keep the right hand free for saber, 
pistol, mallet, or whip, and to use the left hand 
only for the reins. 

For beginners, for all riders mounted on animals 
not properly bitted, and oftentimes with hunters 
and park hacks, it is an advantage to hold the reins 
in both hands. Both in the hunting field and on the 
promenade, it is sometimes difficult to keep the 
horse straight at an obstacle or straight on the road. 
Evidently, in these cases, the rider has better con- 
trol, and easier, if he does not have the complication 
of four reins In one hand. 

When both hands hold the reins, each taking 
those on Its own side, the snafffe rein passes under 
the little finger, and that from the bit lies between 
the little finger and the third finger. Both then pass 
upward and forward, above the forefinger, held 
against It by the thumb. When both reins of the bit 
are held in the same hand, together with one snafffe 
rein, the other snaffle rein being held alone In the 
other hand, the tv/o hands should be kept at 

q6 



THE HANDLING OF THE REINS 

exactly the same height, and never more than three 
inches apart. To make an effect to either side, the 
hand is carried three inches horizontally, without 
any tilting of the hand upward or downward. 

The reins of the bridle, whether held in one hand 
or both, are pressed by the fingers only just hard 
enough to prevent slipping. If the pressure is too 
strong, the tension will be communicated to the 
arms, and from them to the whole upper portion of 
the body. At first sight, nothing seems easier. But 
in practice, the reins will slip, and unequally. The 
result is that, when the rider has occasion to draw 
on the reins, the one which at the moment happens 
to be shortest, has the most effect. 

It becomes necessary, therefore, from time to 
time, to readjust the reins in the hand. 

Suppose that all four reins are held in the left 
hand. To adjust, let us say, the curb reins, which 
are those without the buckle, the rider, with his 
right hand behind the left, takes the free ends with 
his thumb and first finger, and carries the right 
hand upward, while at the same instant he relaxes 
the grip of the left hand on these two. Meanwhile 
the left hand is kept precisely in line with the 
horse's neck. As soon as the rider feels with the 
right hand the equal contact against the mouth, he 
closes once more the fingers of the left hand and lets 
go with the right. For the snafifle reins, those with 
the buckle, the process is exactly the same. 

With the reins held in both hands, to adjust 

97 



THE REASONED EQUITATION 

the left reins the rider brings the right hand up to 
the left, takes with the thumb and first finger as 
before the reins which have slipped too long, 
relaxes the grip of the left hand, and draws the 
reins upward to the proper length. If the reins are 
too short, they are taken in the same way, but in 
front of the left hand, and drawn forward. For 
the right rein, the process is exactly reversed. 

It is difficult, usually, to teach a beginner 
properly to close his fingers on the reins; particu- 
larly women, who handle the leather as if it were 
fine lace, and never really grip it firmly nor have 
the correct length. Yet grip and length are even 
more important for women than for men, since 
the latter have the better control by way of legs 
and saddle. With both men and women, the fault 
commonly begins during the early lessons in the 
ring. If not corrected then, it persists as a bad and 
dangerous habit, so that one often sees even good 
riders who have always to be adjusting their reins. 

Sometimes, for control or for safety, it becomes 
necessary- to shorten promptly some or all of the 
reins. Beginners carelessly let them slip through 
the fingers. Many older riders abandon control of 
their horses or think it proof of a good hand to have 
the reins too long. The result is that in sudden 
emergency — as, for example, when the animal by 
a sudden jump disturbs the seat — the rider can do 
nothing until he has taken time to shorten his reins. 
Then it may be too late. While, therefore, even 

98 



THE HANDLING OF THE REINS 

the beginner ought to learn to keep his reins always 
at the correct length, he should be practiced also in 
shortening them instantly. 

The method is much the same as for adjustment. 
If the rider is holding all four reins in the left hand, 
he simply seizes them all with all the fingers of the 
right hand, or certain ones with thumb and fore- 
finger, and draws them upward to the needed 
length. 

I often tell my pupils that the beginner has 
always two enemies of his safety — his eyes and his 
fingers. The eyes never look far enough ahead to 
see where the horse is going; therefore they tilt 
the head forward and displace the body. The fin- 
gers let slip the reins; therefore are these not ready 
when needed to control the horse. 

I have already noted that the determining factor 
in handling the reins is the need of holding the horse 
straight, the backbone acting, so to say, as a sort of 
keel; and that, on the whole, it is easier to accom- 
plish this end when both hands are employed. 
Nevertheless, there are conditions which make it 
at least convenient for the time being to change 
from two hands to one or from one to two. If, for 
example, the rider regularly uses the left hand for 
all four reins, in order to have the right hand free 
for whip or mallet, he may often need to use both 
hands to control a case of excitement or refusal. 

To separate the reins, changing from the left 
hand to both hands, the little finger of the right 

99 



THE REASONED EQUITATION 

goes over the right snaffle rein, with one finger, or 
better two fingers, between this and the right rein of 
the bit. The bit rein is sHghtly the looser of the two. 

It is impossible to give the precise detail of this 
movement. It has to vary somewhat with the way 
the reins are carried in the left hand. For much 
the same reason, it is not possible to dictate the 
relative length of the two reins, since this is af- 
fected by skill of the rider, the speed of the horse, 
and its education, temper, and surroundings. With 
certain horses, in certain conditions, at various 
speeds and gaits, certain ways of holding the reins 
are better than others. I have experimented widely, 
and I am convinced that virtually all the methods 
of the various masters are good in an "intelligent" 
hand. It is not any fixed position of the reins which 
gives control over the forehead of the mount, but 
the effects of hand and fingers on the bits. An able 
esquire will produce the same total effect with the 
snaffle or with the bit, with left hand or right hand 
or both. It is all a matter of equestrian tact. 

One cannot, then, dictate the precise method of 
separating the reins until he knows how they are 
held all together. But whatever the method, the 
pupil should be frequently practiced in changing 
from one hand to both and back again. These 
manipulations are to be executed, first standing, 
and later at all three gaits, without changing the 
regularity of gaits and speed. Then is the beginner 
prepared for emergencies. 

100 




^53 

n 






"S 

s 



C 




THE REASONED EQUITATION 

There are three principal methods of crossing 
the four reins in one hand. 

According to the first of these, the rider, as soon 
as mounted, takes the extremities of the snaffle 
reins in his right hand and places them upon the 
middle of the horse's neck. He next takes in his 
right hand the two reins of the bit, also by their 
ends, and, lifting his hand, gives these a moderate 
tension. He now places his left hand over these two 
reins, his little finger between them, and grips them 
with all four fingers. The free ends pass out 
between the forefinger and the thumb, which closes 
on them, and fall to the left side of the hand. 
Finally, the rider picks up the snaffle reins with his 
right hand and raises them in front of the left. His 
left hand thereupon looses its grip with the three 
upper fingers, but, still holding with the fourth, 
passes the middle finger between the two snaffle 
reins, and shuts the thumb against the free ends of 
both pairs. 

For the second method, the rider, as before, lays 
the snaffle reins on the horse's neck, lifts the bit 
reins with his right hand, and grasps them with his 
left. In this case, however, both the third and the 
fourth finger separate the two bit reins. He next 
takes the two snaffle reins in his right hand, and 
passes them between the first finger and the thumb 
of his left hand, bringing them out below the little 
finger. The thumb, as before, shuts upon all four 
reins. 

102 



THE HANDLING OF THE REINS 

According to the third method, the left rein of 
either the bit or the snaffle is placed below the little 
finger, and the left rein of either the snaffle or the 
bit passes between the fourth finger and the third. 
The right rein of the snaffle or of the bit is between 
the third finger and the second, and the right rein 
of bit or snaffle is between the second finger and the 
first. Thus a finger separates each two adjacent 
reins. 

One last manipulation of the reins remains to be 
considered — the ancient practice of jerking the bit. 

The old school of equitation recognized this 
action as a means of controlling a disobedient, 
restive, or vicious animal. At that epoch only 
stallions were ridden; and the character of the 
riders had to match their mounts. Pluvinel, de la 
Broue, and Grisons recommend that, in case a horse 
refuses to turn to the right or left, to change from 
gallop to trot, or from trot to walk, or to stop, the 
rider should "give him several sharp jerks against 
the mouth; and in the mean time call him with a 
strong voice, ' Pig ! ' * Cow ! ' ' Scoundrel ! ' ' Coward ! * 
'Felon!'" a complete vocabulary of epithets not 
understood by three quarters of humankind. 

Of course these excellent masters did really 
produce the effects they desired ; but it was by the 
sound of the voice, not by the epithets. Moreover, 
the jerk on the bit cannot have any other result 
than to destroy the animal's understanding of the 
effects of the bit by making him fear the pain. 

103 



THE REASONED EQUITATION 

Jerking the bit is, then, a proof of lack of both 
kindness and competence on the rider's part. For 
after several repetitions, the horse, remembering 
the pain, expects still another jerk whenever the 
rider does anything with the reins; and in order to 
protect itself, it raises the head very high. In this 
position, the jerk cannot be operated. If the rider 
tries it, the horse will get away at high speed and 
become unmanageable. 

The horse's mouth is extremely sensitive, and 
needs, more than any other part, the study of the 
rider and the practice of the principle of strength of 
effects rather than effects of strength. Strength of 
effects means intelligence. Effects of strength mean 
jerk and saccade. Brutality belongs to the nature 
of an animal; but intelligence is the great gift of 
man. It is not by making the horse afraid of the bit 
that we make it understand the meaning of its 
effects. Only by the agreeable contact of the bit 
upon the bars, and by the sensitive repetition of 
this contact, does the horse come to understand, 
without fear, the fingering, the equestrian tact of its 
rider. 

The first action of any animal, man included, on 
feeling pain in the mouth, is to shut it. But when 
a horse shuts its mouth forcibly on the bit, no mere 
two hundred pounds of human rider can pull it 
open by any effect of strength alone. But strength 
of effects, the taking and giving of the rider's hand, 
will release the tension and open the mouth, not 

104 



THE HANDLING OF THE REINS 

because of any pain, but by a pleasant relaxing of 
the jaw. If along with this, the rider, by the effects 
of his legs, concentrates the animal's forces so as 
to bring the center of gravity under his seat, he 
establishes a control from which the animal cannot 
escape. But it is not by jerks and saccades that the 
horse comes to understand the effects of bits and 
legs. 

Nevertheless, if the horse, taking contact with 
the bits, hesitates to yield the lower jaw, some 
vibration of the snaffle rein may be needed to relax 
the mouth. But vibrations and jerks are two 
different matters. The one is beneficial; the other 
is useless and dangerous. 



CHAPTER XV 

THE FIRST WORK MOUNTED: THE HANDS 
' AND THE AIDS 

All the work done up to this point has been merely 
preparatory. Now the time has come for the horse 
to be mounted, and for the whip to be replaced by 
the aids and effects of the rider's legs. 

Other methodists, after completing the flexions 
and the mobilization on foot, pass directly to the 
flexions mounted. This I consider a serious error. 
To mount a young animal, and to keep it standing 
still during the time of its lesson on the various 
flexions, is to offer far too many occasions for 
nervous impatience and disorderly acts. Yet how 
is the rider to prevent these? The horse does not 
understand the aids. The effects of hands, legs, 
and seat are ignored. The rider is at the mercy of 
the animal's ignorance and caprice. 

To meet this difficulty, I have for many years 
relied upon the following system: 

As soon as the preparatory work on foot is 
completed, I mount the horse, and begin at once 
the training in the aids, before proceeding to the 
flexions standing still. First of all, I employ the 
legs, so that I may be able to push the horse for- 
ward against the contact of the bits. Not only do I 
continue my teaching of the aids of legs without 

io6 



THE FIRST WORK MOUNTED 

spurs, at the beginning; I employ also spurs without 
rowels, for the sake of accustoming the horse to 
their use, to increase the effect of the legs, to ac- 
celerate the speed, and to obtain the contact of its 
jaw upon my hand. I am not satisfied with the walk 
only. I ask also the trot, since this is oftentimes a 
very great help in exercising and quieting the ani- 
mal. 

Only after the aids of the legs are well under- 
stood, so that I can always determine a free forward 
movement, do I proceed to the reversed pirouette, 
pirouette, and backing, for the mobilization of the 
fore hand, the hind hand, and the body as a whole. 
On the other hand, I begin the instruction of the 
front hand by the flexions mounted, while my 
control by my legs is still only partial, standing still, 
at walk, and at trot. Thus, without difficulty, 
restiveness, or rebellion, I arrive at the "in hand"; 
and finally, after more and more polishing, at the 
"assemblage." 

Meanwhile, with the instruction of the horse, has 
progressed the tact of the cavalier in using his aids. 

The various sorts of equitation employ many 
different means for directing and training the horse. 
The equitation raisonnSe and the equitation savante 
admit only three aids — the hands, the legs, and 
the seat. Cavessons, whips, and martingales, chir- 
ruping with the tongue, caressings and punish- 
ments, are only means for helping the animal to 
comprehend the effects of these three. 

107 



THE REASONED EQUITATION 

Baucher in his method, though he includes the 
seat as an aid, gives no theory as to the relation of 
the seat to the assemblage; and his own position, 
always correct, is always and invariably perpendic- 
ularly above the center of gravity. Photographs of 
Fillis in action show alteration in his position which 
act upon the center of gravity in direct proportion 
to the movement involved. But only in a few of 
the movements explained in his method does he 
maintain the need of a proper inclination of the 
upper part of the man's body in the direction of 
the horse's motion. 

The seat, simply as a means of staying on the 
horse's back at all gaits and movements, cannot be 
considered an aid, so long as the horse keeps to his 
merely instinctive equilibrium. But as soon as this 
instinctive equilibrium is replaced by the condition 
of transmitted equilibrium, then the effect of posi- 
tion of the rider's body, acting upon the center of 
gravity of the horse, becomes very powerful. 

I discuss this better later on, after I have 
considered the theory of the assemblage, rassembler^ 
and the state of collection. For the present, it is 
important for the student's understanding of the 
general idea of "accuracy of seat." 

A second and more important aid is the hand. 
For this it makes no difference whether the horse is 
in instinctive or transmitted equilibrium. In either 
case, the effect of the reins passes to the mouth, 
from the mouth to the neck, from the neck to the 

io8 



THE FIRST WORK MOUNTED 

front limbs, and from the fore hand throughout 
the entire animal mechanism. Baucher fully un- 
derstood the importance of this aid, and created 
the flexions of mouth and neck. So too did Fillis, 
who was first to apply the expression doigter, that 
is to say, fingering. 

The bridle hand can produce three general effects, 
which, in their turn, by the fingering and by the 
different positions of the hand, are still further 
modified in great variety. 

The first is by tension of the reins, a retarding. 
Its opposite is freedom, permission, concession. 

The second effect is by the steadiness of the 
bridle hand. Its immediate effect is sustension, 
and later elevation. 

The third effect is by the position of the hand, to 
indicate the direction which the animal is to take. 

These effects, in general, should be produced one 
after the other, but not simultaneously. To produce 
any one without at the same time producing any 
trace of any other, or disturbing the conditions 
involved in the other two, constitutes the "intelli- 
gent hand." 

The usual position of the hand is that given 
above. But for control, training, or the like, the 
reins are carried upward, downward, backward, 
left or right, to an extent proportionate to the effect 
desired. During such movements the hand should 
always continue to feel the bit. When the hand 
has reached the position where it will obtain the 

109 



THE REASONED EQUITATION 

required movement, it remains fixed in place until 
the movement is completed. Thus the motion of 
the hand conveys the nature of the movement ; the 
fixation of the hand controls its execution. 



■ CHAPTER XVI 
THE LEGS AND THEIR EFFECTS 

By "legs" one means always the leg below the 
knee. The thighs remain always in permanent 
contact with the saddle, and always entirely 
independent of any movement or pressure of the 
calves. The common expressions of riding-teachers, 
"Close your legs," "Use your legs," " Fermez les 
jambes,'" refer, then, only to the free portion of 
the limb. They do not mean, as many beginners 
mistakenly suppose, that the horse's body is to be 
enveloped by the whole leg from hip to ankle! 

The legs, including the feet, are the second mobile 
part of the rider's body and the most important 
means of controlling the horse. They and their 
effects are the essential promoters of every action 
of the horse, physical and moral. They must, 
therefore, act to just the right amount, neither too 
much nor too little; at just the right instant, 
neither before nor after, in accord with the fingering 
of the reins and the cadence of the stride; not 
interfering with the step, but reestablishing the 
tempo if lost; coordinated with the sensibility, 
nervousness, energy, or the lack of these, of the 
animal. The action of the legs demands, therefore, 
the highest "tact" on the part of the rider. Many 

III 



THE REASONED EQUITATION 

are called, but few chosen to the proper manage- 
ment of this delicate and powerful aid. 

To explain the effects of the legs and the causes 
of these, and to deduce from such general principles 
the correct manner of using these effects in practice, 
is the most complicated subject in all equestrian 
science. 

In ancient times, before the invention of the 
bridle, the legs provided the only means of control- 
ling the horse. Later came spurs. All the masters 
of equestrian art, from Xenophon to James Fillis 
inclusive, have laid down the principle that the 
effect of the contact of the legs is to impel the body- 
forward in whatever direction is indicated by the 
reins. 

This is, nevertheless, only partly true. When the 
legs are pressed against the flanks of an uneducated 
animal, their first effect is merely to tickle the 
panniculus carnosus muscle, which envelops the 
body from chest to haunch. But although this 
muscle does adhere to certain of the locomotor 
muscles, its action is entirely independent of the 
whole locomotor system. When, therefore, the 
horse feels the touch of a foreign object, it merely 
uses the panniculus carnosus to shake the skin, 
whether that foreign body be legs, spurs, or flies. 
It is, consequently, only as the result of education 
that the horse learns to support unmoved the 
rider's legs and spurs. 

But below the panniculus carnosus, from thorax 

112 



THE LEGS AND THEIR EFFECTS 

to pelvis, lie the great muscles which move the fore 
and hind limbs, and which are the principal agents 
in locomotion. Of these the latissimus dor si car- 
ries the arm upward and backward, the longissi- 
mus dorsi, when it acts alone, is a powerful extensor 
of the vertebral column, and the deep pectoralis, 
attached at the angle of the shoulder, draws the 
whole fore limb backward. The student desiring to 
understand more fully the attachments, relations, 
and actions which are effected by pressure of the 
rider's legs, should consult some standard work on 
the anatomy of the horse. 

It is, then, easy to understand that the rider's 
legs affect first of all the horse's hair, skin, pannicu- 
lus carnosus, and abdominal tunic, all of which have 
nothing to do with locomotion; while the great 
pectoralis and its adjuncts, the latissimus dorsi, 
and the muscles of the haunches and hind limbs, 
are either affected only secondarily or remain 
unimpressed. But the first contact of the rider's 
legs is for the horse rather unpleasant than other- 
wise. It takes, therefore, patient teaching to 
accustom the untrained animal to endure this 
contact without anxiety, nervousness, or fear. Only 
after the horse, standing quiet and calm, supports 
the pressure of the legs on all parts of the body, 
from as far forward as the rider can reach to as far 
backward, has the time come for teaching the 
significance of this contact for the more important 
muscles of locomotion, such as the great pectoralis. 

113 



THE REASONED EQUITATION 

All masters of equitation have heretofore advo- 
cated putting the legs in contact with the horse's 
flanks and holding them there until the pupil makes 
one or two or more steps forward. I differ com- 
pletely with this idea. The horse, standing, has all 
four limbs directly below its body. But in order for 
it to move forward, one of the fore legs, executing the 
three movements of the stride, must reach forward 
and come to the ground, ready to receive the 
weight. It thereupon becomes the fixed point upon 
which the great pectoralis acts to pull the body 
forward. But an acting muscle pulls one of its ends 
toward the other; not both ends toward the middle. 
If, then, the rider's two legs press equally upon the 
middle of the great pectoralis muscles, their natural 
action is prevented. All that the horse can then do 
is to stop; or if it be energetic or violent, to rear; or 
possibly to back, if the fixed point on which the 
muscles pull is the pelvis, the haunches, the ilium, 
or the loins. It is some improvement on the usual 
procedure gently to open and close the legs, making 
little repetitions- of the contact. But even this is 
not completely satisfactory. 

I advocate, therefore, this device. First, I make 
contact with both legs. Then, still keeping contact 
with one leg, with the other, very gently, I make 
and break contact, my leg never going more than 
half an inch out from the animal's body. Very soon, 
I see the fore leg on the same side take its forward 
stride, and at the same time I feel under me the 

114 



THE LEGS AND THEIR EFFECTS 

opposite hind leg come off the ground. This is the 
first step! When one has obtained the first step, if 
he is a trainer, a master, he may feel sure that 
millions of steps will follow by and by. Now is the 
time to prove to your pupil, by caressings and re- 
wards, that what he has done is what you asked. 
You have obtained the correct response, scienti- 
fically and naturally, without the quarrel, doubt, 
or confusion, which are the result of the wrong 
method of the old masters of equitation. 

I dwell especially, at this point, on the impor- 
tance of patience and moderation. Do not forget 
that you are an instructor, and that your pupil does 
not yet understand the meaning of your effects. 
Accept, therefore, your duty. Act as if you were 
dealing with a child who does not yet know the 
meaning of papa and mamma. Teach by kindness. 
Do not be violent. Do not kick the animal because 
it does not yet comprehend you. If you do, you 
will be sorry afterwards. Remember always that 
a horse, once properly educated, answers to the 
delicate and intelligent effects of your legs as it 
answers to the deftest fingering of your reins; and 
that all your domination of the animal is the prod- 
uct of your intelligence, a strength of effect, never, 
never, an effect of strength. 

When, from standing, the horse will pass to the 
walk at the effects of the legs, without showing anxi- 
ety or haste, it should be taught by the same methods 
to pass from walk to trot, and from trot to gallop. 

"5 



THE REASONED EQUITATION 

It is, however, one of the axioms of equitation 
that any effect of rider on horse loses its influence 
more and more the longer it is continued. If, then, 
bits or calves or spurs are employed continuously, 
without relaxation, the horse in time accepts the 
contact, becomes wonted to it, and all the effect 
disappears. 

It is, therefore, necessary, from time to time, to 
"render the legs" in the same way that one renders 
the hand. Otherwise the sensibility to the pressure 
of the legs will wear away, or the hind hand will 
become fatigued and the horse refuse. But since 
the effect of the legs is less natural to the horse and 
less obvious to the rider than the effect of the hands, 
even more care must be taken to employ this effect 
with proper moderation. Moreover, if after ob- 
taining motion forward by means of the contact of 
the legs, the rider continues to maintain the same 
contact as before, the horse will soon fail to under- 
stand the meaning of the first pressure. Relaxation 
of the contact is absolutely essential for conveying 
the meaning of the contact. 

There are, however, two different ways of ren- 
dering the legs. Suppose that, to urge the horse 
forward, the rider needs three degrees of pressure. 
He exerts these three degrees, and the horse goes 
forward. The required speed being obtained, the legs 
then return to their normal one degree of contact, 
and the horse continues the movement for himself. 
This principle applies to all gaits and speeds. 

Il6 



THE LEGS AND THEIR EFFECTS 

There is, in addition, a second way of render- 
ing the legs, which though unrecognized by the 
reasoned equitation, is far too much practiced — 
namely, the loss of all contact with the horse's 
flanks. To do this, one ought to be very sure of his 
seat, his horse, and his surroundings. Even then it 
is wiser to confine this meaning of the verb "to 
render" to occasions when the horse is standing 
still. Evidently, rendering the legs with the horse 
in motion, should not involve, at the same time, 
rendering the hands. One who does this is said to 
"abandon" his mount, a serious fault. 

Thus far, for the sake of simplicity, I have 
spoken as if the effect of the rider's legs on the 
horse's body were the same, whatever the precise 
region of the contact. This is not, however, entirely 
the fact. There really are three different effects 
corresponding to three different positions. 

Contact well forward near the girths tends to 
collect the horse and to aid the hand in establishing 
the state of equilibrium. This position tends also to 
keep the animal in equilibrium during movement. 

Contact far back against the flank, on the other 
hand, tends to draw the hind legs forward under 
the center of gravity, and thus to favor stopping, or 
even going backwards. 

The intermediate position between these two is 
the one which sends the horse forward, as already 
discussed. 

These three different ways of using the legs, 

117 



THE REASONED EQUITATION 

understood by both horse and man, will avoid 
certain mistakes on the part of both. 

One more principle is to be noted. The action 
of one rein alone or of one leg alone has no meaning. 
The only effect that the horse can learn to under- 
stand is the additional or repeated effect of one rein 
or one leg while the other remains unmodified and 
uniform. 



CHAPTER XVII 
THE SPURS AND THEIR EFFECTS 

Spurs had, at first, no rowels; but were stiletto-like 
and long. At that epoch, the bit, called buade, was 
ver>^ severe; and the saddle had high pommels 
before and behind. The rider's legs, therefore, 
extended straight down; and since he could not 
bend his knee, he needed the long spur to counteract 
the too powerful effect of the bit. Even to-day the 
Arabs still use this type of spur, called shabir. 

But with the progress of equitation, effects of 
force have given way to force of effects, and the 
stiletto point has been superseded by rowels, 
severe, medium, or mild in proportion to the 
sharpness of their points. The choice of the right 
degree of severity of the rowels needed for any . 
particular animal is governed by the creature's 
dullness or sensibility, and determined by the rid- 
er's equestrian tact. In any case, the horse has to be 
first accustomed to dull rowels and trained progres- 
sively to those more severe. 

A great many sorts of rowel have been used, with 
various theories to explain their different forms. 
Practically, it is important to have the rowels turn 
loosely on their pivots. Otherwise, the horse's 
hairs may collect around them and prevent their 
turning at all. In that event, the points, being fixed, 

119 



THE REASONED EQUITATION 

are a great deal more severe; and the rider may 
unwittingly spur much harder than he intends. 
Motion of the rowel from above downward is 
likewise more severe than in the reverse direction. 

The attack with the spurs, at all periods in the 
history of equitation, has been considered both as a 
means of correction and punishment, and as an 
augmentation of the effect of the legs. It has been 
shown by writers on the subject that the use of the 
spurs follows, as a necessary result, the invention of 
bit and bridle. Evidently, the bit in the mouth, 
bearing upon the sensitive bars, gives rise to 
discomfort and even pain, so that the horse natu- 
rally hesitates to go forward against the sensation. 
This was especially the case with the earlier bits, 
with their long branches and their disks with screws 
attached to the ports. When the legs alone proved 
insufficient to push the horse forward against the 
bit, the whip had to be employed. But this can be 
used on only one side at a time, and is therefore 
inefficient. Moreover, the mounted soldier, reins 
in one hand, lance or sword in the other, could not 
use the whip. Spurs, therefore, had to be invented 
to force the horse to go forward, notwithstanding 
the pain of the bit manipulated by the heavy- 
handed rider. 

The first master to begin to use the spur with 
moderation and intelligence was Comte de la 
Gueriniere. His principle of the "delicate pressure 
of the spurs" is still noted by the more progressive 

120 



THE SPURS AND THEIR EFFECTS 

schools of equitation. But equitation, with the 
progress made since de la Gueriniere's time, has 
passed from the instinctive to the reasoned basis, 
and now to the scientific. It is no longer a question 
of practicing what our ancestors have done, but of 
following a progressive education, a sequence of 
reason, cause, and the effect of the means used by 
the man on the horse. 

Now the first principle of the scientific equitation 
is the force of effect; it denies forever the effect of 
force. This being admitted, it is no longer by the 
severity of the bit nor by the severity of the spurs 
that we train the horse. I say train, as we still do, 
mistakenly: I mean educate. Following a progres- 
sive education, the horse is first taught by a trainer 
on foot, by the use of the whip on its flanks, to 
move forward against the bit. This practice with 
the whip prepares the animal for the effects of the 
legs upon the same part of the body, when the 
rider is mounted and the legs give the impulse to 
the entire machinery. This impulse of the legs 
is received by the bit, making contact with the 
bars, so that there is a continual fluctuation of the 
equilibrium as the center of gravity shifts backward 
and forward at each step. 

To make this matter clear, suppose a horse to be 
mounted and standing, its training by the flexions 
of mouth and neck being so far advanced that it is 
well " in hand." In order to maintain the animal in 
this position, the center of gravity at the center of 

121 



THE REASONED EQUITATION 

mechanism, the rider is exerting, let us say, a force 
of twenty pounds, ten pounds on the fore hand to 
maintain the "in hand," and ten pounds with the 
legs, to maintain the contact with the bit. Other- 
wise the "in hand" will cease and the state of 
equilibrium be lost. 

Suppose, now, that, in order to send the horse 
forward at a walk, the rider, keeping always the 
pull of ten pounds at the reins, increases the pres- 
sure of his legs to fifteen pounds and then to 
twenty; but the horse still keeps its center of 
gravity where it was, and remains standing still. 
If at this point the rider gives the hand, the center 
of gravity will pass forward and the horse will start; 
but the "in hand," which is part of the equilibrium, 
will be lost. If, therefore, the legs alone have not 
the power needed to push the center of gravity 
forward while the reins continue to act, the rider 
must have spurs with which to multiply their 
effect. 

The horse having, if I may so express myself, let 
the center of gravit^^ pass forward, would fall if it 
did not at once extend a fore leg to receive the 
weight. This constitutes one step. As the horse 
moves forward, the spurs abandon their contact; 
but the legs still maintain their pressure as before 
the spurs were applied. The center of gravity will 
return to the middle point; but the horse will 
continue to move forward, still in the state of 
equilibrium. All this is in accord with Newton's 

122 



THE SPURS AND THEIR EFFECTS 

first law of motion as set forth in his Principia. The 
body, once set in motion by a force, continues after 
the force is withdrawn to move forward in the same 
direction until another force interferes. The horse, 
therefore, without further spurring, continues to 
advance at the same speed, until something else 
occurs. 

This, then, is what w^e mean by the "attack" 
of the spurs; nothing brutal, sudden, sharp, or 
unexpected, merely the supplementing of the effect 
of the legs, which alone were not sufficient. But 
the animal has life, and consequently, senses and 
will. It does, for a time, continue to go forward in 
a state of equilibrium, under the impulse of the 
original force. Sooner or later, however, some 
new sensation becomes a disturbing force. It loses 
its uniform motion in a straight line, and with it 
the state of equilibrium. Thereupon, hand and legs, 
spurs, if necessary, must again come into action. 

In such a case, the spurs are a corrective, not by 
their own direct effect, but because they help to 
restore the state of equilibrium, and thus to inhibit 
the animal's own will, which is the disturbing force. 
But though the good-will of the horse is a pleasant 
state, it really is very little matter what the horse 
thinks. The only point is submission to the will of 
the rider, who, by complete and continual control 
of the physical horse, sets quite on one side the will 
of the moral horse. Then and only then is the horse 
an utter captive, unable to disobey, unable to move 

123 



THE REASONED EQUITATION 

a limb except at the intelligent command of its 
master. 

On the other hand, we must not forget the great 
principle, already accepted, that every impression 
made upon the animal loses its effect progressively 
as the impression is continued. If legs or spurs are 
held steadily against the horse's sides, it shortly be- 
comes quite insensible to them. It must, then, have 
its sensitiveness reawakened by repeated attacks. 

For this purpose, while the horse is walking, 
trotting, or galloping, the rider, taking a firm seat, 
closes his legs progressively until he presses with his 
full strength, the hand meanwhile being firm and 
steady, and the rider cool-tempered and calm, con- 
fident in himself and his seat. These conditions 
realized, the rider turns his toes outward, the spurs 
touch the flanks near the girths, pinch, and then 
release, while the legs press with the same force as 
before the spurs were applied. 

The spurs do not remain in contact with the 
flanks. The touch is brief, but the pressure is 
repeated again and again, in about the tempo of a 
quarter-note in music, until the horse, calm and 
obedient, in a state of equilibrium, stands still or 
moves forward at the same speed and gait as at the 
beginning of the attack. If, however, the horse, at 
the attack, backs or refuses to go forward, then 
the tempo of the application of the spurs is increased, 
until such time as the horse advances, always upon 
the hand, with the bit in contact with the bars. 

124 



THE SPURS AND THEIR EFFECTS 

If the horse drops its head when spurred, the 
rider takes the snaffle in one hand and Hfts the head 
with the snaffle, never with the bit. The attack is 
completely successful when the horse's head and 
neck go steadily upward and forward upon the hand 
of the rider, the face nearly perpendicular to the 
ground and the lower jaw open. 

Thereupon follows a sensation well known to 
masters of the art. As the attacks bring the hind 
legs below the haunches, the coupling is lightly 
opened, while the hand, acting upon the bit, 
throws back upon the rear legs a portion of the load 
previously supported by the front pair. The rider 
feels the weight pass below his seat. He hears the 
saddle give a sudden crack as the muscles of the 
trunk contract. Still, it is not absolutely necessary 
that these two sensations should accompany the 
collection of the horse into equilibrium. I have 
found some horses in which they do not always 
occur. 

To a young trainer, these attacks of the spurs 
appear terrible and dangerous. To the consum- 
mate esquire, they are the simplest matter. The 
scientific equitation does not regard an animal as 
trained if it does not respond to the attack by 
collecting itself, or if the attack throws it out of 
the state of equilibrium. 

The attack of the spurs should always be deft — 
le toucher delicat de Veperon, is the phrase of the 
Grand Master, Comte de la Gueriniere. These are 

125 



THE REASONED EQUITATION 

the most exacting of all our means. They act upon 
the physical forces of the animal, and upon his 
moral forces. They affect especially his will. They 
are, therefore, a most important means of control 
if employed for their strength of effects. But they 
are most dangerous when used as effects of strength. 

Masters of the equestrian art have all assumed 
that the spurs have two uses — one for conduct 
and one for punishment. I admit their use for 
conduct, but I deny their use as a corrective in the 
sense in which other writers have taught. I admit 
their use as a corrective in so far as they augment 
the effect of the legs. I grant that, when the legs 
alone are not sufficiently powerful, as a means of 
conduct, to impose upon the horse, by my will, 
the position of equilibrium, so as to paralyze 
movements of revolt originating in the animal's 
will, I employ the spurs. But the effect of these is 
always to reenforce the effects of the legs, which are 
of themselves impotent to obtain the position of 
assemblage. By means of the spurs I am able to 
correct a wrong position which the horse takes in 
revolt, and which would otherwise put in jeopardy 
my control over him, and bring my intelligent 
will into subordination to the enormous physical 
strength of an unintelligent brute. 

I do not believe that the animal is influenced by 
sharp physical pain in any such degree as a man 
is, who by his education is always more delicate 
physically, and morally more fearful than the ani- 

126 



THE SPURS AND THEIR EFFECTS 

mal, who has no dread whatever of death. It is, 
therefore, not by inflicting physical pain that the 
man dominates the brute; but rather by the 
skillful use of the sensations which the man is able 
to impose. Whenever pain becomes the custom, the 
animal no longer heeds it. But agreeable sensa- 
tions are retained in memory, and so dispose the 
animal to obey for the sake of the caresses and 
rewards. 

I have already explained that the purpose of the 
flexions is to obtain equal contact of the bars upon 
the bit by the effect of the two legs used equally. 
Evidently, if the legs do not act equally, the contact 
of the bit will also be unsymmetrical. So much the 
more, then, must the vastly more powerful spurs 
be used with precise equality if the animal is to be 
kept straight and equal in all his steps and gaits. 

It is for this reason most important that the 
teeth of the two rowels be equally sharp or dull, 
and that the spurs be set immovably at the same 
height ; otherwise the attack will occur sooner, or at 
a different place, or be more severe, on one side 
than the other. I hold my own spurs in place by 
having a small piece of leather at the top of the heel, 
on which the spur rests, and a very short strap 
which passes in front of the heel below the boot. 
But the best method is to follow the advice of 
Fillis and to have box spurs set permanently in the 
boots. These cannot be displaced and will always 
act equally. 

127 



THE REASONED EQUITATION 

A rider is said to "apply the spurs" when he 
brings them against the horse's flanks and holds 
them there. Oftentimes during the horse's educa- 
tion, the rider needs to bring back the animal's 
attention, which has been distracted by some sight 
or sound, or has simply lapsed. This moral state 
of the animal should never be tolerated, lest the 
horse come to think that he can get away from the 
rider's control at his own will or because of what 
he sees and hears. It is essential that the man shall 
be master of the animal, always and in every 
circumstance. To apply the two spurs at the 
slightest distraction is highly efficient, provided 
their use is moderate and progressive. The legs 
should be closed first, and the spurs applied without 
shock, as the legs alone prove insufficient. 

A great many poets and other writers speak of 
riders who "bury their spurs in their horse's 
flanks," and thereby start them off like lightning. 
But the fact is that to bury the two spurs brusquely 
is precisely the best way to stop a horse running 
at full speed. The prick of the spurs makes him 
kick out with the hind legs, which, getting no 
support from the air, can no longer drive the body 
forward. The horse ought to bear the touch of the 
spurs as calmly as he bears the pressure of the legs. 
It is the repetition of the contact that produces 
the effect, not the single brusque application. 

Burying the spurs has nevertheless its place. 
Certain horses are thoroughly vicious by nature, 

128 



THE SPURS AND THEIR EFFECTS 

or through restiveness or laziness are always try- 
ing to escape from the rider's control. With such 
animals, the man must, from the beginning, assert 
his superiority with intelligent force. It is not, in 
such cases, a question of training or education. It 
is a question of taming, yet without creating fear 
by excessive punishment. The rider must be posi- 
tive, strict, and severe; but always reasonable and 
calm. 

The result of burying the spurs in the horse's 
flanks and holding them there is commonly to 
inhibit the action of the great pectoralis muscles, 
and thus to prevent the forward propulsion of the 
body, while at the same time punishing the crea- 
ture for an act of restiveness. The horse, there- 
fore, finding himself unable to use his members in 
rebellion, cannot but feel the rider's mastership. 
But if the horse does not already understand the 
effect of legs and spurs, surprise may throw him 
into disorder. Moreover, the sharpness of the spurs, 
the strength and temperament and training of the 
horse, and its native stubbornness, all need to be 
considered by the rider before he buries his spurs 
in its flanks. 

A rider is said to "tickle with the spurs " when he 
uses these instruments inopportunely and without 
reason. Certain riders like to exhibit an ill-founded 
pretense of knowing how to ride, and render their 
mounts impatient or frantic by continued tickling. 
Others, who have no accuracy of seat, let their legs 

129 



THE REASONED EQUITATION 

flop back and forth with the movement of the horse. 
Happily for the latter sort, the horse that supports 
such treatment is too old or lymphatic to mind 
anything. Otherwise, with an energetic animal, 
there would shortly follow a divorce by mutual 
consent. Still a third sort of rider is the one who has 
so little confidence in his seat or himself that, when 
occasion comes, he is afraid to use his spurs with 
justice and energy. He tickles because he has not 
the faith to use the persuaders firmly. 

In short, the man who tickles with his spurs is 
like the man who teases his friends. The one makes 
himself an annoyance, and commonly finds his 
retribution in lack of comrades and true friends. 
The other is likely to make, of a good horse, either 
a nervous and excited animal, or else a poor, lazy, 
confused victim and slave. Spurs on the wrong 
heels are like matches, knives, and firearms in the 
hands of children. 

On the other hand, certain horses are "ticklish 
to the spurs." That is to say, they will not accept 
the contact without showing dislike or fear. Some 
horses make continual movements of the tail, or 
turn the head to look at the rider's leg. Some stop; 
or, if standing, half rear and half back. Some put 
back their ears, and roar or growl. Some grind 
their teeth. Some urinate nervously, in small and 
repeated jets. 

Mares are especially liable to this fault. The 
cause is usually a too great sensibility of the hairs 

130 



THE SPURS AND THEIR EFFECTS 

of the flanks and of the panniculus carnosus. The 
cure is to ride for a time without spurs and with 
the legs against the flanks. This is followed by 
spurs with the teeth filed dull and encased in 
leather, until the horse becomes progressively- 
accustomed to the ordinary sort. The same treat- 
ment can be used for horses that have been made 
ticklish by improper spurring. A few cases, appar- 
ently cured, afterwards relapse. Some animals are 
quite incurable. 

In sum, then, the spurs, properly used, are our 
most powerful means for obtaining, with the help 
of the bridle, a position of the animal in which all 
defense, restiveness, disobedience, or signs of fear 
become impossible. We do not, indeed, alter the 
horse's moral state; but we force it to assume a 
position in which it cannot use its members for 
the acts which correspond. 

On the other hand, the spurs are a dangerous tool 
when used by a rider who employs them with- 
out moderation, delicacy, propriety, and discretion, 
like a monkey playing with a razor. Nothing is 
more ridiculous than to see either a man or a 
woman rider, wearing spurs as an ornament of 
fashion, with the legs so extended as to bring the 
heels close to the horse's shoulders. It is easy, in 
such a case, to understand the sarcasm of a certain 
master: "It would be better for such a rider to 
buckle his spurs to his own elbows, and use them 
against his own flanks." 

131 



THE REASONED EQUITATION 

Since, then, the spurs are the most powerful 
means recognized by equitation, their employment 
demands moderation, intelHgence, experience, just- 
ness, exactness, propriety, accuracy, equality, pre- 
cision, and faith, as moral qualifications, and, 
as physical basis, that sine qua non, the accurate 
seat, without which the other qualities are of no 
avail. In fact, the rider needs as much equestrian 
tact in his heels as in the hands and fingers which 
manipulate the reins. The difference is that a 
mistake made with the hands is usually, in large 
measure, reparable; but an error committed with 
the heels will occasion disorder or revolt that is not 
only dangerous at the moment but may make upon 
the animal a moral impression that is unforgotten 
and may be forever irreparable. 

I have already explained that the effects of the 
rider's legs on the horse's flanks are indirect. The 
muscles of propulsion are overlaid by the pannicu- 
lus carnosus. On this, the pressure of the legs acts 
directly ; but only by education is the effect of this 
pressure passed on to the pectoralis magnus. But 
the function of the panniculus carnosus is to 
contract at the touch of any foreign or strange 
object, such as an insect or a twig. The young 
horse, therefore, when mounted for the first time, 
reacts to the contact of the rider's legs as to any 
other annoyance. If he is uncommonly excitable, 
he simply raises a hind leg and makes ready to kick. 
Only by the process of education does the horse 

132 



THE SPURS AND THEIR EFFECTS 

learn to support the contact of the rider's legs 
calmly and without impatience. 

The first effect of the contact Is, therefore, to 
make the horse raise one or both hind legs. But, by 
our training, we obtain instead the forward move- 
ment, the front leg gaining ground on the side of 
the pressure. After the first step, comes the second, 
and then the trot and gallop, all associated with a 
more or less complex system of signs, based on 
pressures of the rider's legs. This is sufficient for 
ordinary riding. But when the horse revolts, no 
matter what the occasion for his disobedience 
or disorder, we employ the spurs to reenforce the 
effects of the legs. 

What, then, can the spurs do? Without cooper- 
ation of the hand, nothing. But the two, hand and 
spurs, acting together, constrain the animal to a 
position of equilibium, in which all his bodily 
forces are assembled under a center of gravity, in 
such wise that the horse cannot displace this 
collection of its powers without the rider's permis- 
sion and intelligent direction. For in order to 
displace its body, in case of revolt, the horse would 
have to use its muscles in a way impossible for it by 
the law of its nature. These powerful effects of the 
spurs are, therefore, neither brutal, nor abrupt, nor 
provocative. Their action is entirely mechanical, 
and therefore rationally calming and pacifying. 

In other words, the spurs, as they affect an an- 
imal in a state of moral disorder, act like oil 

133 



THE REASONED EQUITATION 

poured upon the waters of a turbulent sea. The 
cause of the turbulence remains ; but the local effect 
is destroyed. So with the horse: its emotions are 
the same, but it cannot act them out. Its physical 
strength is locked, like an insane creature in a 
strait-jacket. 

The progress of the animal's education to the 
effects of the spurs is, therefore, the same, in 
general, as its training to the effects of the legs, 
except that it needs even more patience and kind- 
ness. In case the horse has previously been mal- 
treated with the spurs, the training is the same, but 
still more kind and patient. 

For this education, every esquire needs three sets 
of spurs. The first degree is without rowels, the end 
of the branches being rounded. The second degree 
has rowels without teeth. A penny or a ten-cent 
piece answers nicely. The third degree has the 
teeth short and dull. If when these rowels are 
pinched between thumb and finger of the gloved 
hand, the teeth prick through the glove, they are 
a little too sharp. The length of the branch depends 
on the length of the rider's legs and on the width of 
the horse's flanks, the longer-legged man needing 
the longer spurs. Only experience determines just 
what the proper length shall be. 

The trainer, equipped with spurs of the first 
degree, mounts the horse, and stops him well away 
from the wall, if the work is done in a manege, in 
order that the horse may not try to rub the rider's 

134 



THE SPURS AND THEIR EFFECTS 

leg against the barrier or injure itself by kicking. 
He then closes his legs with all his might, pressing 
the horse's flanks near the girths, while the reins, 
held in the left hand, make their effect. The toes 
are now turned outward, and the right spur is 
brought close to the right flank, within perhaps a 
tenth of an inch. The rider soothes the horse with 
his voice, and as soon as the animal is perfectly 
calm, he applies the spur progressively — very 
progressively — and holds it against the flank, 
meanwhile caressing the right side of the animal 
with the right hand, and encouraging him with the 
voice. Be generous with this, not economical. Put 
your heart into your voice, and your horse will 
understand your meaning. Very well! The spur 
has remained a moment. Begin again with further 
progression. The horse has felt the iron of your 
spur, and look at his ears! Ah! Ah! They are 
immobile. He thinks. He thinks something new, 
a new sensation. Take care, take care, young 
esquire. Voice! Voice! You have it again; I see it 
in your face. You smile. Now encourage with the 
voice; put your heart in it. Caress with the right 
hand the nearest possible to the spot where the spur 
has made contact. 

Change now the reins to the right hand, and 
begin the same progression with the left spur, with 
the same generosity and the same care. You have 
it on the left as well as on the right. Now ride 
your horse at a walk, or even at a trot, for dis- 

135 



THE REASONED EQUITATION 

traction and exercise for the animal, and rest for 
your own legs. 

Stop again near the center of the ring. Apply the 
right spur — very progressively. Encourage with 
your voice. Be careful now, for, if your horse is 
young and you are a novice, neither of you yet 
knows quite where you are going. You have con- 
tact with the right spur. Hold it and come — come 
— with the left. Voice! Voice! You have contact 
on both sides. Caress with the right hand, neck, 
sides, croup. Keep the same pressure with the legs, 
but take away the spurs. Now voice, caresses. 
Bring both spurs at once into contact. It is the 
critical moment. But you have it! Then release 
the contact progressively, cease the pressure of the 
legs, dismount, open the curb chain, and send your 
pupil to the stable. In the afternoon, repeat the 
same lesson three or four times. 

When the horse supports the contact standing 
still, pass to the next demand. From standing, the 
two rowels in contact, try, by leaning the body 
forward in the saddle, to make the horse move 
forward. After a few steps, lean backward and 
bring him to a stop. Again forward. And again 
stop. Rest your legs and caress generously. Repeat 
again and again. Let everything be always calm 
and quiet, without disorder, and without anxiety 
on the part of the horse. 

Next, take the pupil at a walk near the wall. As 
he walks quietly, begin the pressure of the legs, and 

136 



THE SPURS AND THEIR EFFECTS 

add progressively the contact of the spurs. Hold 
for a few steps, and then release, but continue the 
pressure of the legs. Again make contact with the 
spurs; hold it as before for a few steps; then cease 
the touch of the spurs, but continue the grip of the 
legs. Once more touch and release. Finally, make 
contact with the spurs, lean back, finger the reins, 
stop the horse, caress again and again, remove the 
spurs, ease the grip of the legs, dismount, and send 
the pupil to the stable. 

There should be six such lessons at the walk, 
the legs pressing constantly, but the spurs making 
and breaking contact every few steps. After six 
lessons at the walk, give six lessons at the slow trot. 

Now that the horse supports the spurs at both 
walk and trot, it is time to begin the attacks. If 
the preliminary work has been well mastered, the 
next step will be easy. 

The horse is standing. The rider, by means of his 
legs, makes the contact with the bit, the horse upon 
the hand and light. The rider shuts his hand and 
holds his fingers closed. As soon as the legs are 
fixed, their pressure begins. The spurs then make 
contact; and at the same time, the fingers open. 
Then come: fixity of hand — fixity of legs — the 
horse at the walk — caresses — fixity of hand — 
fingering — fixity of legs — caresses. The horse is 
walking: make contact with the spurs — shut your 
fingers — lean back — the horse stops. Forward 
again : open your fingers — spur — lean forward — 

137 



THE REASONED EQUITATION 

stop. After this work is thoroughly understood, the 
same series is run through, from walk to trot, from 
trot to walk, from walk to stop, from stop to walk, 
from walk to trot, and so on. 

Progress thus far has accustomed the horse to 
the touch of the spurs, and convinced him that 
nothing will hurt and that there is nothing to fear. 
We now complete the attacks. The horse is stand- 
ing. The rider opposes with his hand and finds con- 
tact with the mouth. The legs are closed, the spurs 
near the girths. Then follows a delicate and re- 
peated contact and release of the spurs, at the tempo 
of an eighth-note. This continues until, by the flex- 
ion of the lower jaw and the alto-axoid joint, the bit 
loses contact with the bars, though the rider's hand 
does not move. As soon as this flexion of the mouth 
and head is obtained, the attack of the spurs ceases. 
The bits again make contact ; the attack repeats as 
before. 

In other words, your hand makes five degrees of 
effect, and your attack with the spurs makes also 
five degrees. Your two means are, therefore, equal. 
The center of gravity comes exactly in the middle 
of your seat and perpendicularly below your spinal 
column. There is established an equilibrium of all 
forces. Your horse is in the state of assemblage. 
But if the center of gravity is under your spine, 
while the horse is standing still, it is because your 
body, from head to coccyx, is perpendicular. If, 
now, that perpendicular is carried forward, the 

138 



THE SPURS AND THEIR EFFECTS 

center of gravity also shifts forward. The equilib- 
rium becomes unstable. The tendency is to fall 
forward. The front legs advance to prevent the fall, 
attract to their aid the hind limbs, and the walk 
or trot begins. Then, if walking or trotting, the 
equilibrium becomes disturbed, fixity of the hand 
and a light attack of the spurs will reestablish it, 
while fingering on the reins will maintain it. 

When the horse has so far advanced in its 
education as to understand well the attack of spurs 
of the first degree, the work is exactly repeated with 
spurs of the second degree. Following these, spurs 
of the the third degree will still further augment the 
effects of the legs, without affecting the pupil's 
equanimity. 

Finally, to student and novice, I give this advice. 
As you carry on your progressive work with the 
attacks, certain imbeciles — stable boys, riding- 
masters, the ignorant public — will want to know 
what you are about, and whether you are afraid of 
your horse. Do not care. Let them criticize: it is 
very easy. But if you find one of these expert 
hunters or polo-players who think they have a seat, 
get them to try the work that you have been doing, 
keeping their seats while applying and holding 
their spurs exactly, precisely, justly, equally, and 
accurately. Then, if they make the attempt, ob- 
serve them for your amusement 1 



CHAPTER XVIII 
MOBILIZATIONS MOUNTED 

The "in hand" obtained by the series of flexions 
with the horse standing still has not yet trained 
the animal to move its limbs while still keeping 
the head and mouth in the "in hand" position. If, 
therefore, the rider now tries to send the horse 
forward, "in hand," the four legs, not being trained 
to move properly in that position, will become 
disunited into twos or threes. The problem is, 
therefore, by means of the pirouettes, to educate 
the horse to be still further under the rider's control, 
the effects acting, at first, separately, the fore legs 
under the direction of the hand, the hind legs under 
the direction of the legs, and later, united, collected, 
assembled under the direction of both hands and 
legs. 

The mobilization of the hind legs is obtained by 
means of the reversed pirouette, obtained either by 
lateral or direct effect. 

The horse, being mounted and kept standing 
and "in hand," the trainer will ask the movement 
from left to right by the effects of the left snaffle 
rein and of the left leg against the flank. Mean- 
while, the reins of the bit will keep the horse "in 
hand" and standing nearly still on its front legs. 

In other words, the left snaffle rein draws the 

140 



MOBILIZATIONS MOUNTED 

head to the left, while the rider's left leg pushes the 
hind quarters to the right. The movement begins 
by the lifting of the left hind foot and its movement 
toward the right in front of the right hind foot. 
Thereupon, the right hind foot also shifts toward 
the right, and the first step is made. Repetition 
of these effects continues the movement, which, 
however, cannot proceed beyond four steps. The 
reversed pirouette from right to left is obtained by 
the same means, reversed. 

If at first the horse does not understand the 
pressure of the rider's legs, the whip is used to 
augment their effect, by repeated contact near the 
leg. Very soon the horse learns to obey the pressure 
of the leg alone. 

As soon as the horse executes the reversed 
pirouette calmly and correctly by the lateral effect, 
the rider asks the same movement by the direct 
effect. For this, the horse is held "in hand" either 
by the two snaffle reins or by those of the curb, but 
not by all four. The rider's left leg then asks the 
rotation of the haunches toward the right, while 
the right leg urges the horse forward. (Figure 17.) 
Finally, comes the same movement from right to 
left. 

For the direct pirouette, the horse, being always 
"in hand," has to pivot on a hind foot, while the 
fore part of the body circles, let us say, from right 
to left. For this, first of all, the right fore foot lifts, 
crosses over in front of the left, and comes to the 

141 



THE REASONED EQUITATION 

ground about one foot to the left of the latter. As 
it comes to rest, it takes the weight in its turn; 
and the left fore foot, now unloaded, shifts still 
farther to the left, passing behind the right. Once 
more the left foot takes the load, and the right foot 
crosses as before. (Figure i8.) 

Meanwhile, the hind legs have carried much of 
the weight of the fore hand. They have not, how- 
ever, remained fixed. As the shoulders, after the 
first step of the right fore leg, travel toward the left, 
the right hind foot also lifts, moves to the left, and 
takes the ground in front of the left hind leg. Then, 
as the right front leg begins its second stride to the 
left, the left hind foot moves to a position two or 
three inches forward and to the left of the right, 
and takes once more the load. Again, as the left 
front foot shifts to the left, the right hind foot 
repeats its former movement to the left. This 
makes two steps around the imaginary circle of 
the pirouette. Repetition of these two continues 
the turn from right to left to a complete about-face. 

Such is the- mechanical motion executed by the 
horse. At this point I ask of the anatomists and 
masters of equitation, how is it that the pirouette 
is anatomically possible, if the scapular and the 
humerous are fixed to the thorax and the sternum, 
and the only movement of the fore legs is forward 
and back, without elongation? When the right fore 
leg has passed across the left, if it cannot lengthen 
before coming to the ground, then it can fall to the 

142 




Figure 17. pirouette from right to left 




Figure 18. rotation from left to right 



MOBILIZATIONS MOUNTED 

ground only as the left fore leg rises. Therefore, is 
the theory of locomotion false which holds that one 
limb cannot leave the ground until after its mate 
has made contact. The sophists will reply that 
locomotion is always a succession of falls. Very 
true, but these falls operate successively upon the 
front legs as each in turn goes forward at the walk, 
the trot, or the gallop; there is no crossing over of 
the feet at each step, right to left or left to right. 

Consider the case where the fall is greatest. The 
leaping horse is entirely out of contact with the 
ground. It comes to the ground at the end of the 
leap, with its two front legs extended; and im- 
mediately after, the hind legs also come down. Is 
this natural to the anatomy of the animal? Yes! 
But suppose that the horse finishes the leap with 
its two front legs in the position demanded by 
the pirouette or the half passage. What will be the 
consequence? Answer me, please! 

Returning now to the effects employed to execute 
the pirouette, the front hand has to be unloaded, and 
the hind legs, which are the support and pivot, have 
to be loaded, especially the left hind leg. The rider 
must, therefore, carry the line of his body backward 
from the perpendicular, and also bear more heavily 
on the left haunch. The right fore leg, since it 
makes the longer step, has to be unloaded by a very 
slight effect of the right rein. But as this right fore 
leg is to travel over from right to left, the right rein 
must bear upon the right side of the neck, the hand 

143 



THE REASONED EQUITATION 

of the rider being carried to the left. If, on the other 
hand, the right rein were to operate alone, the result 
would be to carry the head too much to the right by 
the flexion of the neck. Consequently, the left rein 
has to maintain the head straight by the proper op- 
position. But, of course, the natural effect of mov- 
ing the hand to the left is to swing the haunches 
to the right. And since the right hind leg must, 
on the contrary, pass leftward in front of its mate, 
the rider's right leg is brought an inch or more 
behind the girth, to forestall this movement and 
maintain the haunches as pivot and support/^ 

The pirouette is to be executed step by step. At 
the beginning, one or two steps are sufficient. It is 
evident that the "in hand" position must be un- 
disturbed during the entire movement, since it is 
only under this condition that this mobilization 
of the forehand has any real bearing on the fu- 
ture progressive education. Again I counsel, for the 
student, moderation, patience, perseverance; but 
more important still are positiveness, and quality 
rather than quantity, since quantity alone will have 
little value for the future training. 

Other masters dictate this pirouette immediately 
after the "in hand" has been obtained, and before 
the reversed pirouette. I, on the contrary, first 
mobilize the hind legs by means of the reversed 
pirouette or rotation ; and only after my horse well 
understands my effects of leg, do I begin the mobi- 
lization of the fore hand by the pirouette. 

144 



MOBILIZATIONS MOUNTED 

Forty years ago, noting the confusion in the 
minds of riders between pirouette and reversed 
pirouette, I renamed the latter, rotation — pirou- 
ette for the mobihzation of the fore hand ; rotation 
for the mobihzation of the hind legs or croup. The 
change is, at first sight, not important. It becomes 
so only because it helps to clear the matter for 
beginners. , 

Even at first sight, the figure of the pirouette 
is easy to understand. The difficulty comes in 
executing it. Moreover, it is sometimes extraor- 
dinarily hard to make the beginner comprehend 
just the difference between pirouette and rotation. 
I have seen really intelligent men confuse them, 
month after month. Changing the name from 
reversed pirouette to rotation has helped not a 
little. 

Finally, for the sake of one of my pupils in 
particular, who insisted that he was doing the one 
when he was really doing the other, I hit upon the 
following device. 

Stand facing the edge of an open door, and take 
the knobs in your two hands. The hinges represent 
the horse's front legs; your legs are the horse's hind 
ones. Now pivot the door from right to left, passing 
your right foot between your left foot and the door, 
bringing it to the ground, and then bringing the left 
foot into its usual place beside it. This imitates the 
movement of the rotation. Taken from left to 
right, everything reverses, both motions and effects. 

145 



THE REASONED EQUITATION 

For the pirouette, turn your back to the door. 
The hinges are now the horse's hind legs, and your 
single pair are the horse's fore legs. Once more, 
swing the door from right to left, and follow it with 
your feet, by shifting the right foot across in front 
of the other, and then passing the left foot between 
the door and the right to its usual position. 

Do not, I repeat, attempt to execute these figures 
on horseback, until you are sure that you under- 
stand precisely each detail. After that, if you pro- 
ceed with moderation, the movements are so easy 
that, like everybody else who has tried it, you will 
laugh at the novices who have not yet caught the 
idea. 

When the pirouette is properly done at the walk, 
it can be tried at the trot, but only after the horse 
has so far advanced in its education as to trot 
properly. The chief difficulty with the pirouette 
at the trot is to gauge accurately the horse's sen- 
sitiveness to each of your effects. Otherwise, it 
may cross its legs too quickly, and in order to 
avoid the tendency to fall, which is greater at the 
trot than at the walk, it is likely to change to the 
gallop, preferring to execute the figure at this gait 
rather than at the trot. 

At the gallop, the pirouette should always be 
asked at the same hand or same side at which the 
horse leads — the right-hand pirouette to the right, 
and vice versa. 



146 



MOBILIZATIONS MOUNTED 

BACKING 

Motion backwards is not a gait, but merely one of 
the three movements which the horse executes by 
carrying rearward its center of gravity, and con- 
sequently a part of its weight. 

The movement has given rise, among methodists, 
to a great diversity of theories, more or less im- 
practical and absurd. Some writers recommend 
having two men to teach the action, one in the 
saddle, who pulls alternately on the reins, the other 
on foot, who touches chest or knees with a whip. 
Others advocate having the rider dismount, and, 
facing the horse's head, take one rein in each hand, 
and push backward, first on one and then on the 
other. If the horse does not then back, the trainer 
steps on the horse's fore feet as he gives the tug 
at the reins. What confusion! There is no real 
principle. How can one write concerning an art 
without greater knowledge of it! 

It must be evident that, in order to make the 
horse back, the rider must carry backwards the 
center of gravity. Then, whenever a hind leg leaves 
the ground, it must go to the rear to receive the 
weight, which otherwise tends to fall backwards. 
If, at the same time, the rider's hand indicates to 
the horse that it cannot go forward, a front leg must 
follow the hind leg in diagonal. This makes the first 
step. To repeat the same effects of hand and legs 
obtains the second step. 

147 



THE REASONED EQUITATION 

The objection of the horse to backing arises from 
the stiffness of the muscles of the back at the region 
of the coupUng. These muscles and the articulation 
can, however, be suppled by the preparatory work 
on foot, with the whip. The rider, standing at the 
horse's left, holds the two curb reins in his left 
hand, and touches repeatedly, with the whip, the 
croup behind the saddle, meanwhile making a 
moderate but repeated effect with the curb on the 
horse's mouth. Very soon, the horse backs. By 
repeating this work two or three times at each 
lesson, the horse soon learns to execute the move- 
ment, first with the trainer on foot, afterwards with 
the trainer mounted and employing his legs, 
supplemented if necessary by the whip. A saddle 
horse, well collected, should move backwards with 
the same step and cadence as forward. 



CHAPTER XIX 
THE FLEXIONS MOUNTED 

For the flexions mounted, the rider lays the two 
reins of the bit on the horse's neck near the withers, 
their length equal; and holds the snaffle reins, one 
in each hand, with the free end of each passing 
between the forefinger and the thumb. The elbows 
are in contact with the body, but without stiffness. 
The hands are at the same height as the elbows, 
and, at most, three or four inches apart. The legs 
are in contact, but make no effect. * 

First, obtain contact with the bit. Immediately, 
yield contact, by opening the fingers. Then close 
the fingers, and again take contact. When you are 
sure that you can make the contact when and how 
you please, be satisfied for the present, dismount, 
and continue the flexions on foot. The second les- 
son of the same day repeats exactly the work of 
the first. 

On the second day, mounted, take three minutes 
to complete the contact, two mniutes for the fin- 
gering, three minutes of fingering, two minutes of 
contact. Dismount. 

On the third day, take, mounted, two minutes 
of contact, three of fingering, two of contact, three 
of fingering, interrupted by rests. Dismount. 

, For the fourth day, take one minute of contact 

149 



THE REASONED EQUITATION 

with the snaffle. Cross the left rein of the snaffle to 
the right hand, holding the two always equal. With 
the snaffle reins, maintain the position, head up. 
Take the reins of the bit in the left hand, separating 
them by the first two fingers, the ends passed over 
the forefinger and held by the thumb. Make con- 
tact with the snaffle. Shift the contact from snaf- 
fle to bit. Caress with the right hand; or, if that is 
occupied, with the voice. Continue this exercise 
for five minutes. For another five minutes, change 
the contact back to the snaffle. Do three minutes of 
fingering alternately with the two hands, followed 
by two minutes with the reins of the bit and snaffle 
both in the right, while caressing with left hand and 
voice. (Figure 19.) 

For the second lesson of the fourth day, take 
the snaffle reins in the right hand, while the left 
hand holds the reins of the bit, but without effect. 
Make contact with the right hand. Shift the con- 
tact to the left hand, making the same effects. 
If, now, as you finger with the right hand, the horse 
champs the bit, begin fingering also with the left, 
then change to the right alone. Then follow with 
three minutes of fingering with the bit, helped out, 
if necessary, with the snaffle ; three minutes with the 
snaffle; then two minutes with the bit. Dismount. 

If the flexions have been done correctly on foot, 
this work of obtaining contact with the two bits 
alternately will be sufficient to secure, by means of 
fingering, a flexion of the lower jaw, which will, 

150 




Figure 19. the horse straight and in hand 



THE FLEXIONS MOUNTED 

nevertheless, still further improve with the follow- 
ing lateral and direct flexions of the neck. 

For the lateral flexion of the neck to the right, 
the trainer takes both curb reins in his left hand, 
his little finger separating the two, holding them of 
equal length, and short enough to give the proper 
contact and to supple the mouth by their fingering. 
In his right hand he holds the right snafiie rein only, 
the left lying slack across the curb reins. By carry- 
ing the right hand still farther to the right, keeping 
the same pull on the right snaffle rein, by repeated 
and progressive pressure, the horse's head will be 
turned to the right, pivoting at the region of the 
atlas. This inclination will be very slight at the 
beginning; but with repetition and caresses, the 
horse very soon learns to swing its head far enough 
to transfer at will the weight from one fore leg to 
its mate, dispose its center of gravity, and make 
the various changes of direction. During the lateral 
flexion with the snafiie rein to either side, the hand 
holding the curb reins should be kept immovable, 
and only the fingers give and take with the mouth. 
After the head has been flexed, it is to return to its 
straight position, little by little, by the progressive 
slackening of the snaffle rein, always at the will 
of the rider, never suddenly at the will of the 
horse. The lateral flexion is complete when the 
head turns to a right angle with the axis of the 
body and the frontal bone is perpendicular to 
the ground. 

151 



THE REASONED EQUITATION 

At the beginning of this work, in order to make 
the horse understand the compound effect, it will 
be necessary to carry the right hand over little by 
little and to cease the fingering of that hand. Do 
not demand too much flexion at first. The slightest 
inclination of the head should be rewarded, and the 
head turned straight. 

The object of these flexions is to make it possible 
to shift the weight borne by either fore leg on to the 
other, always on the side away from the movement 
of the head. Thus, if the flexion is to the left, the 
load transfers to the right front leg; and vice versa. 
It may happen that, when everything is otherwise 
correct, the horse will paw the ground with the foot 
on the side toward which the flexion has been made. 
This is natural, and not a serious fault. Neverthe- 
less, it is something which the horse does on its own 
initiative, not in obedience to the rider; and it is, 
therefore, not to be permitted. Moreover, the horse 
may learn to paw only, without making the flexion. 
Furthermore, the horse should not champ the bit 
under the fingering of the right hand. It should, at 
the indication of the right hand, complete the direct 
flexion of the mouth; while at the same time it 
makes the flexion of the neck to the left and returns 
straight again, and vice versa for flexion to the right, 
as shown in Figure 6 and discussed under "Descent 
of the Hand." 

Do not, therefore, accept motion of the lower 
jaw to right or left. This is not correct. The flexion 

152 



THE FLEXIONS MOUNTED 

of the neck to one side or the other follows the 
direct flexion of the mouth. If the flexion of the 
neck interferes with that of the mouth, the flexion 
has no meaning, and the rider who accepts this 
condition creates an asymmetry of the neck which 
is reflected throughout the entire body. 

If the horse, at the beginning of the flexion of 
the neck to either side, throws its haunches toward 
the other, put it straight again, first by ceasing the 
flexion, and then by slight pressure of the legs. Do 
not, however, under any condition, kick. 

Fillis is entirely logical when he objects to be- 
ginning the flexions of the neck before the animal 
understands the separate effects of the legs. I was 
myself of the same opinion until I experimented 
successfully with several horses at the beginning of 
their training. It is all a question of progression, 
of moderation in demands, and of perseverance. 
Without the least doubt it is possible to flex de pied 
Jerme, without the help of the legs. I recognize, 
however, a difficulty, and to meet this I have ad- 
vised placing the horse near a wall when the lateral 
position is being taught, in order that the presence 
of the barrier may help to keep the haunches 
straight. We have to consider, also, that the great 
masters of the art, because of their equestrian 
tact, are able to omit from their own training 
the work on foot. Nevertheless, they were them- 
selves obliged to employ this at the beginning 
of their professional careers; they accept it as es- 

153 



THE REASONED EQUITATION 

sentlal for beginners, and they Include it in their 
systems. 

Only after both the lateral and direct flexions of 
mouth and neck are mastered standing, should the 
student proceed either to the mobilization of the 
hind legs by means of the ordinary rotation, in 
accordance with Baucher's method: or, following 
Fillis, should execute a form of the rotation in 
which the horse moves at a walk in such wise that 
the tracks of fore and hind feet make two con- 
centric circles, with that traced by the hind feet 
outside the other. The latter is, in my judgment, 
the more progressive and the more rational. 

When the beginner has mastered the reversed 
pirouette, he next "carries his horse forward" at a 
walk, the horse always giving the direct flexions of 
mouth and neck without altering its gait, and then 
asks the lateral flexions of the neck. I advocate 
making this flexion in such wise that the horse's 
head shall turn toward the wall of the ring. Other- 
wise, the pupil will think that it is his own leg which 
keeps the haunches from turning, when really it is 
the presence of the wall. When, therefore, the 
pupil tries to keep the horse straight away from the 
wall, he finds that he cannot do it, and must go 
back to the wall again. 

Even when walking with the right side against 
the wall, the haunches of the horse tend to be 
displaced to the right at the lateral flexion of the 
neck to the left, so that it is by the effect of the 

154 



THE FLEXIONS MOUNTED 

right leg that the rider corrects this tendency and 
keeps the spine straight. I do not, at the beginning, 
employ my legs to maintain the straight position; 
but going straight, if I ask the flexion, and the 
haunches have a tendency to swing (a tendency, 
only, I say), I do not wait until the haunches have 
actually swung — it would then be too late — but 
at the first slightest feeling in my seat, my leg is 
ready with its effect. But I do not kick. To kick a 
horse with leg or spur is to me blasphemy. 

As the horse reaches the corner of ring or manege, 
the rider continues the flexion of the neck to the 
left, sends the horse forward by means of his left 
leg, and turns it by the effect of the right, as in the 
reversed pirouette done at the walk. In this, the 
rider is entirely rational, in complete accord with 
the nature and anatomy of the horse, the regularity 
of its motion, and what it has been taught from 
the beginning of its education. But I submit that, 
after having taught the horse, with its head to the 
left, to move its haunches to the left at the effect of 
the right leg, as in the reversed pirouette or rotation, 
it is the height of absurdity to turn a corner to the 
right by means of right rein and right leg, a viola- 
tion of the nature of the animal, a contradiction of 
all that it has been taught, and the reason for those 
terrible tempests of revolt so often experienced by 
Baucher and Fillis, when they asked movements, 
by lateral effects, when the r mounts were moving 
in diagonal action at walk and trot, while they used 

155 



THE REASONED EQUITATION 

a diagonal effect with the horse at the gallop, which 
is a lateral gait. 

These lateral flexions of the neck, with the direct 
flexions of the jaw, are to be done at the walk, not 
too continuously, but occasionally only, and with 
frequent return to the direct flexions of mouth and 
neck. I emphasize this, because the horse is built 
to travel straight — an axiom of the reasoned equi- 
tation — and only occasionally to alter its natural 
posture. 

When these lateral flexions can be done, to either 
side, at a walk, they are repeated in the same way 
at a slow trot. 

When the animal executes them properly at the 
trot, the trainer should begin passing a corner to 
the right, with a half lateral flexion to the left, 
while he bears down his weight on his own right 
buttock, but without relaxing contact with his legs. 

I recommend to the student, at this point, to take 
note of his own progress. The work on foot has 
given him the power to see with his eyes and to feel 
with his fingers, the action which he has asked of 
the horse. Equestrian tact has been born in him. 
The problem is now to keep this tact developing 
progressively. The requirements are quality, not 
quantity, perseverance, honesty, patience, gener- 
osity. 

In dividing the time for this work on the flexions, 
it should be understood that the horse is not to be 
kept in one fixed position for the entire time 

156 



THE FLEXIONS MOUNTED 

indicated, but is to be relieved by intervals of 
freedom. My own experience is that a few steps 
forward, light "in hand," or a few moments 
standing head up, without the effect of the reins, 
but by the horse's own free will, is a great rest. 
Without some such respite, the trainer asking the 
flexions too continuously, the horse becomes dis- 
couraged and nervous. 

Very probably, too, the rider's own action of 
hand and fingers will not be altogether correct at 
first. But practice is the road to perfection, and as 
I am convinced that my theory is correct, I urge 
the student to be patient and perseverant. Fur- 
thermore, I myself entertain always a friendly 
sentiment toward the horse; and I try to inculcate 
this feeling in the mind of the student. 

RENDERING THE HAND 

To "render the hand" is to relax the tension of the 
reins, either by movement of the arms or by loosen- 
ing the grip of the fingers. It is not the same as to 
"abandon" the horse, as already discussed. Since, 
in equitation, the various means act by strength 
of effects rather than by effects of strength, they 
tend to lose their effect the longer they are con- 
tinued. We must, then, cease the effect for a longer 
or shorter time, in order to renew the sensibility. 
Raabe, Baucher, and Fillis, although they evidently 
themselves employed the device, seem not to have 
thought it necessary to discuss or teach it. 

157 



THE REASONED EQUITATION 

I recognize, in rendering the hand, three different 
actions. 

The first occurs when the horse has his head 
flexed at the axoid articulation, and the muscles 
of the neck, being under restraint by the tension 
of the reins, begin to show fatigue, stiffness, and 
a failure of sensibility. But if, after a time, the 
rider eases this tension, either by advancing the 
hand or by letting the reins slip in his fingers, he 
allows the animal to rest his muscles, and renders 
his hand in the first sense. 

The second way of rendering the hand depends 
on fingering. When the head is flexed, as in the 
first instance, the rider's control over the neck is 
by way of the lower jaw. But since the bars are of 
uncertain sensibility, if the mouth remains closed 
notwithstanding the pressure of the bit, the con- 
traction at the temper o-maxillaris articulation will 
be communicated to the alto-axoid. The result 
is still greater fatigue, stiffness, and loss of sensi- 
bility. But when the neck is flexed and the bit in 
contact with the bars, pressure of the fingers on 
the reins opens the mouth, while cessation of this 
pressure allows it to close. This cessation of the 
pressure which has flexed the lower jaw is rendering 
the hand in the second sense. The repetition of this 
flexing and rendering constitutes fingering. 

"Fingering" is the only possible translation of 
the French, doighter, used by musicians to mean 
the delicate sensibility by which they distinguish 

158 




Figure 20. to render the hand 



THE FLEXIONS MOUNTED 

the quality of pressure which they exert upon their 
instruments to make them produce the exact 
quality of sound which renders the musical phrase. 
Their instruments, however, are machines which 
do not tire; whereas the horse is a creature with 
bones, muscles, nerves, and will, capable of fatigue, 
and needing relaxation, lest the will move nerves 
and muscles to resist. It is, therefore, to prevent 
the state of revolt occasioned by fatigue that we 
must, though always retaining the contact, render 
the fingers, so that the horse vibrates under the 
rider's control, without excessive fatigue. 

The third sort of rendering the hand consists in 
allowing the horse to place its head and neck in a 
position other than that which they have been 
holding under the rider's control. The horse has 
completed a series of movements, head in position 
and fixed point at the atlas region. The contraction 
starting from this point tends to create weariness, 
so that the horse needs to rest this region. The 
rider, therefore, by lengthening his reins, lets the 
horse extend his neck. The fixed point shifts from 
the atlas region to the shoulders, and the horse 
rests. This action of rendering has to be learned 
by the horse, first standing; then progressively at 
walk, trot, and gallop. (Figure 20.) 



CHAPTER XX 

PLACING THE HORSE AND THE VARIANTS 
FROM THE "IN HAND" 

After the discussions of the preceding chapters, 
there still remain certain matters, which either have 
not been touched upon at all or else require still 
further elucidation at this point. 

PLACING THE HORSE 

To "place the horse" is to put him into whatever 
position he needs to take in order to understand or 
to execute the particular movement which is next 
to be asked of him. This is really one of the 
difficult parts of the art of equitation; but the 
esquire who understands placing has always the 
assurance that the following movement will be 
correctly performed, since it is by the proper posi- 
tion that the rider appeals to the animal's intelli- 
gence and at the same time paralyzes any sign of 
insubordination. The principle seems paradoxical 
to the rider who merely experiments, but for the 
experienced master, the position thus taken by 
the four legs of the animal is the only one which 
supports the weight equally on all its members. It 
is, therefore, the sine qua non of equilibrium, with- 
out which the movement is impossible. 

Nothing, therefore, is more invariably true than 

1 60 



PLACING THE HORSE 

the principle enunciated by Baucher: "The position 
gives the movement." The fact is, a horse, well 
conformed, healthy, and well mounted, when un- 
der transmitted equilibrium, finds it much more 
difficult, physically and morally, to alter that state 
and refuse the movement asked, than to obey. The 
proof is that the same movement, asked of an 
inferior animal, will result in revolt. 

It is evident, then, that the horse is compelled, 
by the condition of transmitted equilibrium, to 
seek instinctively that state of balance which 
involves a less physical effort in executing any 
change of gait or direction, than when it is not in 
balance. After this position of balance is given by 
the rider, the horse will not refuse to execute a 
movement which does not compromise the condi- 
tion. This is the reason why the competent esquire, 
who knows how to place his horse preliminary to 
the movement, never has a restive or disobedient 
animal. What is more, if a well-educated horse, 
accustomed to the position of equilibrium, is by 
circumstances put out of that state, it is simply lost 
and does not know what to do with itself. But, of 
course, riding of this sort is no offhand matter. It 
requires study and knowledge, time and self-control. 

But, unfortunately, there is always the rider 
who, for example, asks of his mount the turn to one 
side at the trot, but neglects first to place the horse 
in the position which makes the movement possible. 
The animal necessarily refuses. To whom belongs 

i6i 



THE REASONED EQUITATION 

the fault? Obviously, to the man. Yet it is the 
horse who is blamed and punished. But will the 
punishment change a law of nature? The more 
the poor brute is abused, the less is it correctly 
placed to execute the movement. No horse will 
ever refuse what is asked, when its rider has pre- 
viously made sure that the placement is right. 

A standing horse is correctly placed when the 
four legs, perpendicular to the ground, form a 
rectangle. In this position, each leg bears one 
quarter of the entire weight. Very few horses, 
however, take and keep this position instinctively. 
They have to be trained to it. In order, then, to 
place the horse, the rider needs to understand the 
diagonal effect for standing, walking, and trotting, 
and the lateral effect for the gallop, since these 
effects are the only means for correcting a wrong 
position and for maintaining the horse straight. 

THE STRAIGHT HORSE 

A HORSE is said to be straight when the whole 
spinal column, from the atlas to the last sacral 
vertebra, is precisely in line. 

For the spine of a horse is like the keel of a boat. 
One could not steer a boat with a crooked keel, 
without strain on the hull and a waste of force on 
the rudder. Even more true is it for the horse that, 
with a crooked spine, the four legs will not carry 
equal weights, and the steps and strides, with their 
resultant, the gaits, will not be square and equal. 

162 



PLACING THE HORSE 

Therefore does the reasoned equitation accept as 
sine qua non the two basal principles, "straight" 
and " forward." Indeed, if the horse is not straight, 
it cannot go forward, but advances in the direction 
in which the spine points. Then are the steps and 
strides not equal, the coupling yields more to one 
side than to the other, and carries with it the pelvis, 
the haunches, and the hind legs. On the other 
hand, when the spinal column is straight, the 
coupling gives equally, the pelvis becomes the 
center for the motion of the two hind legs, the 
fore and hind parts of the body act in unison, 
collection and assemblage become possible, and, 
equilibrium being secured, the center of gravity 
finds its natural place in the medial plane. In this 
condition, strides, steps, and gaits become equal 
and square, the horse suffers less fatigue and wear, 
and continues in the best condition to develop its 
natural and instinctive forces. 

Very few riders, amateurs or masters, are able to 
put a horse exactly straight, and to keep it so 
while they carry it forward or backward. Yet 
nothing whatever can be done properly by a horse 
\\rhich is not straight. 

FORWARD 

En avant, as the French say, means not only for- 
ward, but in addition, the condition of the horse 
when in contact with the bit and ready to advance 
frankly and without hesitation at the effects of the 

163 



THE REASONED EQUITATION 

rider's legs. One often hears a master say, "This 
horse is not enough forward," meaning that the 
animal is behind, not upon, the rider's hand. 

Of the two equestrian axioms, straight and for- 
ward, this is the more important, since it is easier 
to have the horse straight when going forward than 
when standing still. It is from this state of forward- 
ness that everything else becomes possible; so that, 
very often, even after a horse is far advanced in its 
training, it has to be carried forward again, before 
its education can be continued successfully. From 
the beginning of the equestrian art, by the oldest 
masters, this state of forwardness has been com- 
mended. I am, therefore, of the opinion of Fillis, 
who reiterates, "Forward, again forward, always 
forward." One may turn the rudder of a boat as 
much as he likes, but if the boat has not way, 
the rudder is without effect. It is the same with a 
horse; first forward, then direction. 

Unfortunately, it is very much easier to keep 
the fore hand straight and forward by the natural 
tact given to a man's hands than to develop in his 
legs the purely artificial tact which comes only with 
long practice. Nevertheless, a horse is neither 
forward nor straight, when anything is wrong or 
crooked at the coupling. 

THE REIN OF OPPOSITION 

Both the reasoned and the scientific equitation use 
the term, "rein of opposition," to mean whatever 

164 



PLACING THE HORSE 

effects have to be used to counteract the fault of a 
horse which is unequal in its movements, and which 
refuses to be put straight or to stay straight. The 
matter is seldom taught; and the causes, effects, 
and corrections have been quite ignored. Authors 
^who have mentioned rein of opposition have not 
explained it clearly. Frankly, I suspect that very 
few men have really understood it. 

Unhappily, very few horses are straight when 
mounted, for reasons which are discussed in part 
under the captions, "Weight" and "Seat." But 
the horse with a tendency to have the spine crooked 
tends also to stride unequally, in order to compen- 
sate for the first defect. This we correct by means 
of the rein of opposition. 

Suppose, for example, that, instead of walking, 
trotting, or galloping straight, a horse turns its 
haunches to the right. The haunches are ap- 
parently at fault, so we will start our problem from 
them. The masters tell us to push the haunches to 
the left with the right leg. This is an error, in that 
it attacks the consequence and neglects the cause. 
The real trouble is that the left front leg is making 
a shorter stride than the right. The left hind leg 
has, therefore, too little space for its step, and 
comes to the ground too soon and too near the 
right. This pushes the back part of the body to 
the right, and throws the line of motion of the 
right hind leg out of parallelism with the axis of the 
body. The rider can, indeed, for the moment, push 

165 



THE REASONED EQUITATION 

the croup over with his right leg. But the effect 
soon evaporates, and the haunches return to their 
former place. It is all labor without end, not a 
corrective. 

But why does the left front leg not gain ground 
equally with the right? For a great many reasons, 
which are all, at bottom, one. The weight is more 
upon the right fore leg, so that this has to reach out 
farther at each stride to check the forward fall of 
the body. The point, then, is to equalize the load 
on the two front legs. This we can do by pressing 
with the right rein against the right side of the neck 
so as to throw the head over to the left, until the 
two fore legs are loaded equally. Then the left 
fore leg will reach out farther, and allow room for 
the full stride of the left hind leg. This, in turn, 
will no longer push over the right hind leg, and the 
horse will travel straight. 

But, to go back another step, why was the weight 
not equal on the two fore legs? The answer is that 
the spine was crooked. By using a rein of opposition 
on the side opposite to the shorter stride, we correct 
the wrong position of the haunches. This means of 
placing the spine straight will be understood by a 
horse whose progressive education has gone so far 
as to include the pirouette. 

THE REIN OF CONTRACTION 

The rein of contraction is a complex and special 
effect of a rein, which, bearing on one side of the 

i66 



PLACING THE HORSE 

neck, pushes the shoulder toward the opposite 
side. 

For example, the rider desires to turn his horse to 
the right. Holding one rein in each hand, the right 
hand immovable, he passes his left hand across, 
above the right, so that the rein bears upon the 
muscles of the left side of the neck. The horse, 
therefore, contracts these muscles. But, since his 
head is held straight by the fixity of the right rein, 
the result is to pull the left fore leg over toward the 
right, in front of its mate. But as soon as the left leg 
takes the weight, the right leg also steps toward 
the right. Repetition of the contractive effect will 
compel a second similar step; and the body will 
turn toward the right impelled by the hind legs. 
In order for the horse once more to travel straight 
ahead, the rein of contraction ceases its effect and 
returns to equality with the other. 

This action of the rein of contraction is what is 
commonly called "guiding by the neck." I do not, 
however, understand that the expression, to "guide 
by the neck," must always mean the rein of contrac- 
tion. With the rein of opposition or with the rein 
direct, the horse is also always guided by the neck. 
But these are really three different effects, 

IN HAND 

A HORSE IS said to be "in hand" when the bars are 
in contact with the bit with which the rider's hand 
communicates through the reins. 

167 



THE REASONED EQUITATION 

From the invention of the bridle, the "in hand" 
has been the subject of the researches, writings, 
methods, and principles of the masters of every 
epoch and age. A horse so placed has its head 
perpendicular to the ground, and therefore parallel 
to its fore legs. But, unhappily, the myology and 
the physical structure of the horse, and the prin- 
ciple of gravitation, have not always been as well 
understood as now by these masters; with the 
result that each one of them has created his own 
"in hand." When we consider the saddles which 
force the rider to sit bolt upright with the legs 
extended downv/ard like crutches, the severity of 
the ancient bits, the heaviness of the horses, and 
the movements demanded of them for tourney, 
carrousel, and battle corps-a-corps, we understand 
why the riders and masters favored so exaggerated 
a position. Moreover, in earlier days the horse 
carried his neck flexed at the fourth vertebra, more 
to show its elegance than for reasons of utility. It 
is only in our own time that the development of 
racing has emphasized the idea of speed, and, 
ignoring elegance, has altered the "in hand" to 
the position which, while favoring obedience to 
the rider's eff"ects, does not interfere with the action 
of the animal mechanism. 

All modern uses of the horse for riding ask the 
"in hand." The scientific equitation asks also that 
the head shall be "upon the hand." Baucher 
required the horse to be " in front of the rider's legs 

i68 



PLACING THE HORSE 

and behind the hand." Raabe asked the horse to 
be "before the rider's legs and in the hand." The 
scientific equitation calls for a horse "before the 
legs and upon the hand." 

UPON THE HAND 

When the horse is "upon the hand," thdre Is a state 
of contact of the lower jaw upon the bit which 
makes possible the communication of sensation in 
both directions by way of the reins, between the 
horse's bars and the rider's hand. 

Orator and musician must be in communication 
with their hearers by means of voice or instrument. 
It is not otherwise with the horse. From the bit, 
the sensations pass along the nerves to the brain, 
the will is formed, and the appropriate message is 
returned along the nerves to the muscles. These, 
contracting upon the joints, produce the movement. 
But as soon as this contact ceases, there is an end 
to the series of sensation, transmission, volition, 
and act. The horse passes under the control of its 
own instinctive forces, and is no longer subject to 
the will of the rider. 

It is like the blind man led by his dog. So long as 
the cord between them remains tight, so long will 
the man follow it. But if the dog stops, the cord 
slackens; and the man also stops, uncertain and 
hesitating, because communication is broken. The 
case is exactly the same when for the blind man we 
substitute the horse, and for the dog the rider. The 

169 



THE REASONED EQUITATION 

rider ceases to impel the horse forward. The reins 
are loose. The contact is broken. The horse stops, 
not knowing where to go. 

But if this state of contact between hand and 
mouth is important for the ordinary equitation, it is 
a great deal more necessary for the scientific, since 
this is founded upon the principles of equilib- 
rium, collection, the assemblage of forces continu- 
ally united in the medial plane and establishing the 
center of gravity. 

From the earliest days of equitation, every rider 
has studied the "in hand" by means more or less 
rational. But so many mistakes have been made 
that I must try to explain the precise nature of the 
first element of the "in hand," the contact. It is, 
however, a difficult matter to explain a feeling in 
words, and though comparisons are useful to illus- 
trate a point, I shall have to ask the indulgence of 
reader and student. 

I touch elsewhere upon assemblage and col- 
lection. 

FORWARD OF THE HAND 

A HORSE Is forward of the hand, if, on Its own 
initiative, it goes forward against the bit, according 
to its own will, disposition, or temperament, instead 
of conforming to the impulsion of the rider's legs. 
If this exuberance is not the result of unsoundness, 
viciousness, bad conformation, or bad habit, it is 
more a merit than a defect in a saddle horse, since it 

170 



PLACING THE HORSE 

is easily remedied by proper education, while the 
underlying good quality still remains. 

BEHIND THE HAND 

A HORSE IS, on the contrary, said to be behind the 
hand when it is loath to take contact with the bit. 
This may occur for either of two reasons. A young 
horse may have become discouraged by being 
ridden under a hand without tact, which has 
maintained the contact too long, or has shaken too 
severely. Or the trouble may be weakness of hocks, 
haunches, loins, spine, or of the ilio-spinalis muscle 
or the great pectoralis. 

Evidently, if the horse lacks strength in those 
parts of its mechanism which drive its body for- 
ward, it will hesitate to go forward against the 
bit; and will, in consequence, be behind the hand. 
Similarly, the horse which, at the beginning of its 
training, was willing to enter into contact, but has 
become discouraged, fearing the rider's tactless 
hand and the resulting pain, is really in an analo- 
gous condition to the weak horse. In either case, 
the fault must be remedied, since an animal which 
the rider cannot send against the bit is at all times 
ready to stop and enter into revolt. If the horse is 
behind the hand because it is badly conformed and 
weak, training is the cure. But if the horse is well 
conformed and strong, and still stays behind the 
hand, the remedy is education — more often for 
the rider than for the horse. 

171 



THE REASONED EQUITATION 

It is, then, somewhere between a horse that is 
forward of the hand and one that is behind, that 
we find the ideal condition, "upon the hand." The 
first two sorts of horse are out of the man's control. 
The one because it takes the initiative for itself; 
the other because it does not respond to that of the 
rider. The third is under control, because the 
forward impulse of the rider's legs is received by 
the rider's hand, which, by means of the fingering, 
accepts it and lets it pass forward, or denies it and 
sends it back, accepts and raises, accepts and directs. 

The first sort, therefore, pulls on the bit, because 
it pushes by its own will. The second sort does not 
pull, because it cannot or will not push. The third 
pushes just so much as is indicated by the legs of 
the rider, who, by his fingering, accepts or prevents 
the pulling. The first horse will push, pull, and run 
away. The second horse will stop, kick, and rear. 
The third cannot perform other movements than 
those asked by its rider. 

LIGHT IN HAND 

Leger a la main has long been used by masters 
of equitation to describe a horse which responds 
calmly and readily to the gentle and progressive 
effects of the rider's hand. 

But the horse light in hand is not at all the 
animal which escapes the contact of the bit on its 
bars by shaking its head in every direction. Noth- 
ing is easier for a human being than to be a law- 

172 



PLACING THE HORSE 

abiding citizen on a continent by himself. Very 
possibly the same man would be a criminal if he 
were living in the society of others. Likewise, a 
horse which refuses contact with the bit cannot be 
directed. Nobody knows in advance what it will 
do, acting by itself and without means of control. 
The horse which is light in hand accepts the contact 
of the bit, without altering its speed or gait, its head 
slightly out of the perpendicular, its neck directed 
upward from the withers to the atlas region, and 
opens its mouth if the rider's hand insists on the 
contact, but without changing the cadence of its 
step. But if this lightness in hand is a test of the qual- 
ity of the horse's education, it is also a test of the 
rider's skill. Only with accuracy of seat will the 
rider's legs act with precision to obtain the propul- 
sion forward. Only with accuracy of seat will the 
hand judge correctly its own effect upon the mouth. 
If hands and legs are used to correct faults of seat, 
the horse cannot be light in hand. Bad seat, bad 
hand, bad legs; good seat, good hands, good legs; 
accurate seat, accurate hand, accurate legs — it all 
sums up in the words, "equestrian tact." Any 
horse, well conformed and well ridden, is always 
light in hand. 

TO LIGHTEN A HORSE 

So Newcastle translated alleger son cheval. Since 
the horse, at the beginning of its education, does 
not understand the effects of hands and legs, and is 

173 



THE REASONED EQUITATION 

not wonted to the pressure of the girths and the 
weight on its spine, it contracts its body and is 
heavy. But a horse of good conformation, breeding, 
and temper is naturally energetic, so that it is very 
easy to lighten such an animal by a wise and pro- 
gressive education. A more ordinary horse, with- 
out these native qualities, requires the training of 
an able master. Yet any horse can, by education, be 
sufficiently lightened to be mounted with pleasure. 

The old equitation advocates for a heavy animal, 
great vigor and energy in the effects of hand, and 
still more of legs, helped out by spurs. Nothing can 
be more wrong. If the horse is heavy because it does 
not understand the meaning of hands and legs, and 
therefore contracts itself, surely it is not by still 
severer effects that the horse will be cured of its 
apprehension. On the contrary, it is only by es- 
pecial lightness of effects, applied cautiously and 
progressively, that the trainer will make these so 
pleasant to the animal that it will receive them 
without fear, contraction, or heaviness. 

Thus we come back always to the same principle, 
strength of effects, not effects of strength: intelli- 
gence, not brute force. The rider who understands 
and puts into practice the principles of an eques- 
trian method with a heavy horse, will very soon find 
himself with a light one. 

THE INTELLIGENT HAND 

An intelligent hand is one which, at all times, under 

174 



PLACING THE HORSE 

every condition and circumstance, no matter what 
the motion, action, gait, or speed, the state of obe- 
dience or revolt, understands instinctively every 
impression that comes from the horse's mouth, 
and is ready at once to accept, refuse, counter- 
act, or suppress both the effect and the cause. 

The English expressions, ''fine hand," and 
"light hand," suggest the skill of the pianist or 
the prestidigitator, whose tools have no will of 
their own. The intelligent hand responds to and 
controls the vital forces of a creature animated by 
the will to live. The hands of the rider are two 
vowels of the equestrian alphabet ; the legs are two 
consonants ; accuracy of seat unites the four letters 
into a word of the language with which rider and 
horse communicate. If a letter is lacking, or if the 
word is not formed, then there is no sense. 

All this is no dream, no illusion of the mind. It is 
a fact, a reality; albeit, it is understood only by 
the master who knows the language and appreciates 
the significance of each letter and each combina- 
tion, as the educated horse understands them. A 
fine hand means nothing. A hard hand is a fault. 
An intelligent hand is all in all. 

ACCORD 

A RIDER is in accord with his horse when his aids 
are in correct ratio to one another and to the 
movement which is required of the horse. 
The rider's hand retains, sustains, and directs 

175 



THE REASONED EQUITATION 

the forward impulse of his legs. But if the legs 
produce a greater impulse than the hand can 
receive, the center of gravity will pass to the fore 
hand. Contrawise, if the hand produces a greater 
effect than the legs can overcome, the center of 
gravity will shift to the hind legs, and the forward 
impulse will be lost. In either case there is lack of 
accord. Again, suppose that the rider wishes to 
carry his horse forward at a walk. If thereupon the 
legs produce so powerful an effect that the hand 
cannot receive it, the horse will take the trot. Legs 
and hand, rider and horse, are not in accord. 

Not only, however, must the rider's effects be in 
accord with one another in order to obtain the gait 
or the movement asked, they must, in addition, be 
in accord with the nature and energy of the horse. 
The rider, therefore, to obtain any particular 
movement, has to ask that particular movement by 
adjusting accurately his effects to that movement, 
not to some other. Otherwise, horse and man are 
not in accord, because the man's effects do not 
match his special demand. 

THE CENTER OF GRAVITY 

The center of gravity of any body is that point 
upon which the body will balance in all positions. 
The balance of our own bodies upon the legs, 
which support the weight and prevent it from fall- 
ing to the ground at each step, is so familiar and 
instinctive that we fail to appreciate it or to reflect 

176 



PLACING THE HORSE 

on the consequences if that balance were to be for 
one moment destroyed. Gravitation is really an 
essential condition of our natural existence, like 
the air we breathe. Its force is precisely measured 
by a body's weight. 

Every animal, therefore, is under the influence of 
two forces, the inert pull of gravity, and the active 
force of its own muscles. So long as the animal is 
recumbent, its weight is immobile, and it is in a 
position of inertia. To change this position under 
the first force, the second, the contractive force, is 
needed. This is developed by the muscles, by a 
tension sufficient to support the weight immobile 
upon the legs. But in order to propel the weight in 
any direction, the animal needs a contractive force 
greater than that needed to keep the weight im- 
mobile. Therefore must the muscular force be 
sufficient for both the weight and the velocity. 

Sir Isaac Newton teaches that the motion of an 
animal is a series of falls, received and prevented 
by advancing one leg after the other. Since the 
force of gravity is constant, the velocity does not 
affect it. But the velocity does affect the momen- 
tum, which varies directly with the frequency of the 
falls. The greater the velocity, the more do the bases 
of support multiply their action; and consequently 
the flatter becomes the trajectory, and the more 
perfect the equilibrium of the forces involved. 

With honses of good conformation, the center 
of gravity is well established. But with horses of 

177 



THE REASONED EQUITATION 

deficient conformation, its position is variable, and 
this hinders the union of the animal's forces at any 
center. Though its proper place is at the middle of 
the spine when the horse is collected, it seldom is 
actually located here until after the horse has been 
trained. The beautiful conformation only makes 
the training easier. But, of course, the horse has 
also its instinctive center of gravity, when at 
liberty, without a rider to direct its movements, 
gaits, and speed. 

With these principles in mind, it becomes easy to 
understand the defenses of the horse. If the horse 
kicks, rears, or runs away, the cause is always the 
wrong location of the center of gravity. Kicking 
means that the center is in the shoulders; rearing, 
that it is in the haunches; running away, that it is 
in the spine, but too much forward of the middle. 

The constant object of the rider is, then, to keep 
the center of gravity where it belongs. Equitation 
cannot completely alter bad construction of the 
locomotor organs; but it can ameliorate the effect 
by modifying the cause. By uniting the animal's 
forces at the proper point, one can paralyze the 
defenses of a badly conformed animal. This is the 
reason why the masters have maintained that a 
well-conformed horse cannot defend itself, without 
destroying the harmony of its conformation, and 
at the expense of a very great increase of muscular 
effort, to give the power needed to displace the cen- 
ter of gravity. 

178 



PLACING THE HORSE 

For these reasons, also, the scientific equitation 
insists on the absolute necessity of giving to the 
horse a factitious equilibrium in place of that which 
comes by instinct; not only in order to prevent 
disobedience, but also to remedy faults of con- 
formation by a due combination of the animal's 
forces at the center of gravity. The entire education 
of the horse is, indeed, toward this result. 

When the center of gravity is established, the 
horse is in a condition of equilibrium. The weight 
of the man, combining with that of the animal, be- 
comes, by its position, an essential element in main- 
taining the center of gravity, in direct ratio to the 
displacement of this new force, forward, backward, 
to right or left of the perpendicular. If the man's 
weight shifts forward, the excess compels the horse 
to advance a base of support in order to prevent 
the fall. In this case, the center of gravity does not 
alter; the change is of the momentum. It is the 
same with movement backward, or to right or left, 
always supposing that the horse keeps its state of 
equilibrium. 



CHAPTER XXI 
THE ASSEMBLAGE 

By means of the foregoing work, which has been 
only preparatory, of the flexions, the mobiliza- 
tion of the fore and hind hands, and the movements 
backward, the cavalier has mastered the use of his 
various means, and the horse has come to under- 
stand their effects. The rider can now obtain from 
his horse the position of "in hand." Starting with 
this position, and using all the effects together, the 
rider should now be able, by means of the collection 
or assemblage, to obtain an equilibrium in which 
all the animal's forces are reunited at a center of 
gravity, situated exactly beneath his own weight, 
which, in its turn, bears equally and perpendicu- 
larly on the spinal column of the horse. 

This position, obtained and continued at will by 
the cavalier, is the great ideal of equitation, since 
it gives immediate and complete control of the 
animal by the man. To the young trainer, at first 
sight, it appears difficult. Yet it is not. If one has 
followed the progression of the flexions and mobi- 
lizations, and has obtained regularly the "in hand " 
position, he will also secure, without too much 
difficulty, the subsequent position of equilibrium. 
But, of course, the conformation of the horse, both 

1 80 



THE ASSEMBLAGE 

physical and moral, also enters very seriously into 
the problem. 

In the preceding work of the flexions and the 
mobilizations, the cavalier has used the effects of 
hands and legs separately. But to obtain the state 
of equilibrium by means of the assemblage, he 
must employ hands, legs, and weight, together. 
This action is often called "effects of e?isemble," 
since it requires the equalization of the forces of the 
horse, not only to support its own weight, whether 
at rest or in motion, but also to carry the added 
weight of the rider, and is brought about by ac- 
cordant effects of the cavalier. 

In short, the separate effects make possible the 
effects of ensemble. These effects of ensemble pro- 
duce assemblage. The assemblage gives the state 
of equilibrium, which is the equal balance of the 
entire mechanism. 

From the beginning of equitation, this state of 
equilibrium of rider and horse has been the subject 
of researches and theories, more or less practical. 
Of these, Baucher's is the most reasonable. More- 
over, this grand master has proved experimentally 
the existence of this equilibrium, and the fact that 
it is produced by the assemblage. I give here one of 
Baucher's tests in the form in which I have several 
times repeated them for myself. 

An ordinary saddle horse, properly trained but 
not practiced in the demonstration, weighs one 
thousand pounds. I place him, without saddle or 

i8i 



THE REASONED EQUITATION 

bridle, with his hind legs on one of two platform 
scales and his fore feet on the other. If he took 
naturally a state of perfect equilibrium, he would 
thereupon register a weight of two hundred and 
fifty pounds with each foot, five hundred pounds at 
each end. 

But as a matter of fact, the forward scales regis- 
ter 612 pounds; the rear scales only 388. The horse 
will not distribute his weight equally between the 
two pairs of limbs, unless his naturally wrong posi- 
tion is rectified by the demonstrator. 

For this purpose, I add a twelve-pound saddle 
and three pounds of bridle; making the new weight 
1015 pounds, which the horse distributes, ten 
pounds in front and five behind. I take the reins of 
the bit and raise the animal's head. At once the 
weights change, and become more nearly equal. 
The front scales now show 522 pounds and the 
rear 493. Fifty pounds has shifted to the hind legs. 

Still keeping the head up, with the aid of a whip, 
I place the hind legs side by side, and both per- 
pendicular to the horizontal line of the horse's 
spine. All the while, I bear lightly on the bit and 
flex the head at the atlas region. The scales now 
indicate 510 pounds on the fore legs, 505 pounds on 
the rear ones. This difference of five pounds arises 
from the impossibility for a man on foot of keep- 
ing the front legs exactly perpendicular upon the 
scales or obtaining perfect flexion at the atlas region. 
Allowing for this small difference, we have here an 

182 



THE ASSEMBLAGE 

undeniable proof of a state of transmitted equilib- 
rium imposed upon the animal by the man. 

The demonstration is still more striking when the 
horse is mounted. I weigh, dressed, 172 pounds, 
a total weight of 1187. Letting the reins lie loose, 
I find that the scales read 722 and 565 pounds. 
I take the reins, flex the horse's head and neck 
to bring the animal "in hand," and at the same 
time, by the contact of my legs, I bring the 
animal's hind legs into the perpendicular position. 
The scales now read, in front 598, behind 589, a 
difi^erence of only nine pounds. In this particular 
case, the horse had become pretty nervous from 
having his feet on the unsteady scale platforms; 
and in order to keep him quiet, I had been neglect- 
ing my own position, and leaning slightly forward, 
for the sake of loading the fore legs and keeping 
them still. As soon as I rectified this, and sat with 
head and body erect, the forward scales read stead- 
ily 593, while the other oscillated between 592 and 
594 with the action of my legs in trying to keep the 
horse perfectly quiet. It was a convincing dem- 
onstration. Moreover, by leaning forward or back- 
ward with the head very erect, I could always take 
thirty-five or forty pounds from the reading of 
either scales and add it to the other. 

For the benefit of any person who wishes to 
repeat these tests, I add certain practical sugges- 
tions from my own experience. I find that one of 
the great difficulties is to keep the horse calm and 

183 



THE REASONED EQUITATION 

still upon his legs, so that I lost a great deal of 
time and the data were less accurate. To remedy 
this, I built a stall, three feet by twelve, with parti- 
tions four feet high. The scales, I placed under 
ground, the platforms level with the surface, and 
over them a thin layer of earth or tanbark to give 
the horse confidence and to keep it from slipping. 
If, however, the apparatus is set in a floor, solid 
wooden platforms should be built upon the scales, 
at the correct distance apart, and surfaced with 
tanbark or dirt. All these extra weights will, of 
course, have to be allowed for. The indicators of 
the scales should be outside the stall. 

It must not be thought, however, that Baucher, 
in devising this experiment, or the author in re- 
peating it, had any idea of having it used as a 
means of training the horse to take the correct 
position. Its only object is to prove to the student 
that the state exists, and that it is possible to ob- 
tain it by means of the effects and aids. 

The deductions from the experiment are highly 
important. It proves the necessity of the work on 
the flexions of mouth and neck, since without these 
there would be no way of obtaining the " in hand." 
It proves, also, the necessity of mobilizing the 
front and hind hands, since without this the horse 
could not be placed with its legs vertical, and 
therefore the weight could not be made equal on 
the two scales. Finally, it proves the necessity of 
the suppling of the loins by movement backward, 

184 



THE ASSEMBLAGE 

since otherwise the hind legs could not be brought 
into the perpendicular relation to the spine. 

So long as the horse remains at rest with his 
four limbs perpendicular, the state of equilibrium 
can be demonstrated. But with the horse in action, 
only the eye of the spectator or the equestrian tact 
of the rider, through his seat, can detect it. The 
spectator can see the four legs leave the ground 
and return, two by two, diagonally at walk, trot, 
and movement backward. 

The rider, under these conditions, feels in his seat 
the squareness and equality both of the different 
strides and of each step. The horse gives a light 
and agreeable contact upon the hand, the head and 
neck are perfectly steady and yet firm, while the 
rider feels that, with the least tension on the reins, 
the neck will flex like an elastic band. All the time 
he feels in his seat that, with the least shifting of 
his weight or the slightest alteration in legs, hand, 
body, or head, the equilibrium will vanish. The 
animal moves between the rider and the ground, 
rhythmically. Every joint is supple, and every 
part of the mechanism does its task with power, 
freedom, and in perfect synchrony. Fillis, the 
grand master, is right when he says, "The rider 
feels as if the horse were flying." But Baucher, 
the great dead, is also right when he says, "The 
sea is calm, but full of rocks!" 

Unhappily, this state of equilibrium tends al- 
ways to be disturbed in consequence of the various 

185 



THE REASONED EQUITATION 

positions taken by the horse as he executes his 
great diversity of strides, steps, gaits, and move- 
ments. The rider must, therefore, by means of his 
effects of ensemble, be always checking this tend- 
ency, or restoring the equiHbrium as soon as it 
escapes. When the horse is standing still, the rider 
will feel this escape of the equilibrium in his bridle 
hand. But when the horse is in motion, this feeling 
comes only through the seat. An able esquire 
reestablishes the equilibrium by the accuracy of 
his seat, economizing hands and legs. 

These effects of ensemble are employed most 
efficiently just before the demand for a new move- 
ment, a new direction, or a new gait; and also to 
maintain the equilibrium during the succeeding 
movement without change of speed or gait. All. 
this is in accord with the principle of Baucher, who 
created the effects of ensemble: "The position 
gives the correct movement; the movement should 
never give the position." 

These effects of ensemble, employed on a well- 
trained horse, are, however, virtually impercepti- 
ble to the onlooker. 



PART III 
THE SCIENTIFIC EQUITATION 



CHAPTER XXII 
THE DIAGONAL EFFECT 

The name, "High School," has long been used and 
is still employed to designate a system of education 
which trains a horse to execute in the ring of a 
circus the low and high airs and the various figures 
of manege. It is a special kind of equitation, for 
which the state of equilibrium is not important. 
Baucher, Fillis, Franconi, and other civilian mas- 
ters of the art have exhibited their horses in the 
circus, not alone for the immediate financial profit, 
but still more to make their systems known and 
appreciated. It was, in fact, from the circus that 
Baucher and Fillis were called by various Euro- 
pean governments to teach their systems to army 
officers. 

These masters, however, had already accepted 
the anatomical principles of Benton, Borelli, and 
Bishop, who, in their discussion of animal motion, 
emphasize the fact that, at walk and trot, the 
horse advances by the diagonal movement of its 
limbs. But in accepting this doctrine of locomo- 
tion, these masters at once comprehended that the 
lateral or direct effects of the two older schools are 
in fiat contradiction to the newer ideas of horse 
anatomy. They found it necessary, therefore, to 

189 



THE SCIENTIFIC EQUITATION 

create the diagonal effects, In order to be en rapport 
with the movement in diagonal biped. 

The horses exhibited by these masters executed 
all the movements of the high and low airs, but 
were maintained continually in the state of equilib- 
rium; and they had gait, speed, and manners. So, 
to emphasize the distinction between their systems 
and those of the circus, the masters gave to their 
principles the name equitation savante. The term 
has been accepted by horsemen the world over, 
both in the armies and outside. Unfortunately, 
the only translation into English seems to be the 
very inadequate "scientific equitation." 

As a matter of terminology, the right diagonal 
biped means the right fore leg and the left hind 
one; the left diagonal biped, left fore and right 
hind. Consequently, the right diagonal effect has 
to mean the effect produced by the right rein and 
the rider's left leg; while the left diagonal effect 
is that of the left rein and his right leg. 

The equilibrium, which is the foundation of the 
whole scientific equitation, can be obtained only 
as the result of two forces opposed to one another, 
the one pushing the horse forward and the other 
holding him back. The first of these forces arises 
from the effect of the rider's legs: the second from 
the effect of his hands by way of the reins and the 
bits. If, let us say, the rider exerts ten degrees of 
effect with his legs to send the horse forward, and 
at the same time exerts ten degrees of effect with 

190 



THE DIAGONAL EFFECT 

his hands to prevent this movement, the horse, 
between these two forces, must concentrate its 
native pow^ers, and establish a center of gravity. 
The result is equilibrium, that is to say, balance. 
The effects of the legs are effects of impulsion. The 
effects of the hands are effects of retention. Thence 
arises the equestrian axiom: Equilibrium is the 
consequence of effects of opposition. 

Suppose, then, that the horse is being main- 
tained in equilibrium between ten degrees of im- 
pulsion and ten degrees of opposition. If, now, 
the impulsion is increased from ten degrees to fif- 
teen, the opposition still remaining at ten, the 
horse must move forward, with the condition of 
equilibrium still maintained. 

Precisely here lies the difference between the 
scientific equitation and the lateral or reasoned. 
The former, to produce movement forward, keeps 
the same opposition as before, but increases the 
impulsion. The others cease the opposition, and 
thereby allow the equilibrium to disappear. These 
last cannot do otherwise. They are employing the 
lateral effect only. Therefore, they cannot main- 
tain the effect of opposition against a mechanism 
which is driving itself forward by a diagonal action. 
Only the diagonal effect can maintain opposition 
while the animal moves in diagonal. 

The reader will note that it is always from the 
fore leg involved that the right or left diagonal 
biped takes its name. This, in my opinion, is a 

191 



THE SCIENTIFIC EQUITATION 

mistake. The hind leg is the one which gives the 
impulse and is the cause of every movement. The 
action of the fore leg is merely the consequence. It 
would, therefore, have been more logical to have 
named the bipeds from the hind legs; and more in 
accord with the equestrian maxim, "Forward, 
forward, always forward." This means impulsion, 
and impulsion is possible only by the effects of the 
rider's legs acting on the hind limbs of the animal. 

It must, of course, be understood that when I 
discuss these motions in diagonal, I am considering 
only a horse in the state of equilibrium. Moreover, 
when any master speaks, let us say, of the right 
diagonal effect and the use of the right rein and the 
left leg, he does not mean that the left rein and the 
right leg are to cease their effects. What he means 
is that this rein and that leg are to increase theirs. 
Otherwise, the horse will turn its body, its spine 
in the dorsal region will no longer remain straight, 
and the forward impulse will disappear. 

To accustom horse and rider to the diagonal ef- 
fect, they should execute mounted the lateral and 
direct flexions, and mobilization by the reversed 
pirouette and backing. If, however, at the begin- 
ning of practice in the diagonal effect, a young 
rider training a young horse is confused in his ef- 
forts, it is better to begin the rotation by the 
diagonal effects on foot. For this, supposing that 
the movement is from left to right, the trainer 
places himself exactly as for the direct flexion, ex- 

192 



THE DIAGONAL EFFECT 

cept that he holds in his right hand the right reins 
of both curb and snaffle and also the whip. By 
means of these two reins he secures a partial flexion 
to the right; and at the same time, by means of the 
curb rein held in his left hand, he maintains the 
head, mouth, and neck inclined to the right. Then, 
with the whip, he makes the animal execute the 
mobilization of the hind quarters from left to right, 
step by step. After some practice at these rotations, 
both from right to left and left to right, the trainer 
mounts and repeats the mobilizations by the same 
efi"ects, but using his leg instead of the whip. But 
an experienced trainer begins these rotations by 
diagonal effect, mounted. 

For the rotation from left to right, by the right 
diagonal effect, the cavalier mounted, the horse 
standing still and in equilibrium, both reins of the 
bit and the left rein of the snaffle are taken in the 
left hand, and the right rein of the snaffle is taken 
in the right hand. The left hand keeps the horse's 
head perpendicular, the "in hand" position, wnile 
the right hand, by a light opposition on the right 
snaffle rein, inclines the horse's head to the right. 
Meanwhile, the effect of the rider's right leg impels 
the horse forward, and the left leg, increasing its 
effect, pushes the haunches toward the right, the 
animal's right fore leg gaining a little ground to the 
front. (Figures 21, 22.) 

The rotation must be executed calmly and step 
by step. It is completed when the horse has about- 

193 



THE SCIENTIFIC EQUITATION 

faced. In the rotation from left to right, the action 
of the rider's right leg is absolutely necessary for 
maintaining the forward impulse while the haunches 
wheel at the effect of the rider's left. The rotation 
is stopped at its completion by the effect of the 
rider's right leg; not by the cessation of the effect of 
his left. The rotation can be done also at the trot, 
but only upon a circle, and only after the horse has 
learned to make two pistes, which makes the figure 
a half-passage. The rotation at the gallop is very 
complicated, and cannot be performed until the 
horse can do the two pistes at a gallop. 

The pirouette is asked only by the direct flexion 
of the mouth and neck and can be done at trot and 
gallop. Backing is asked by the diagonal effect. It 
is done step by step, and needs great care to avoid 
wear and tear of the hocks. 

The trot is executed by the action of diagonal 
bipeds, precisely like the walk except that each 
biped, remains a longer time off the ground. (Fig- 
ure 23.) 

The gallop is the same as the run, but slower. 
The canter is still slower than the gallop. The run 
is natural and instinctive to the horse ; the gallop is 
taken and held under the control of the rider; the 
canter is an artificial gait given by the cavalier. 

These three gaits have given rise to so many 
theories that the result has been and still is an end- 
less confusion. Some theorists teach that run and 
gallop are executed by the lateral bipeds. All such 

194 




Figure 21. rotation by the diagonal effect: the 

RIGHT FORE LEG FLEXED 




Figure 22. rotation by the diagonal effect: the 

HORSE ON three LEGS, THE RIGHT FORE LEG EXTENDED 




Figure 23. the trot 




Figure 24. FIRST stride in change of lead 

AT THE GALLOP 



THE DIAGONAL EFFECT 

theories are the product of philosophizing by writ- 
ers who do more riding with a pen than with hands 
and legs on a horse's back. 

The saddle horse is useful to mankind only by 
virtue of its locomotion. This locomotion is the 
consequence of impulsion; and impulsion is given 
only by the animal's hind legs. To drive the body 
forward, therefore, it is absolutely necessary that 
the horse should have one or two feet on the ground. 
A foot in the air, so long as it remains in the air, can 
have no effect. 

But if, let us say, the right hind foot is on the 
ground, the right hind leg may deliver its thrust 
either to the right or to the left fore leg. In the first 
case, the right lateral biped is set in motion, in the 
second case, the left diagonal biped. 

In order, then, to pass from standing still, or 
from walk or trot, to the gallop upon the right lat- 
eral biped, the rider throws his entire weight upon 
the right lateral biped, and at the same time, by a 
quick inclination of the body forward to the right, 
the rider places the horse in the position to gallop. 
It then remains only to give the action to the whole 
machine, the legs of the horse moving in accord 
with the gait asked. 

This action will be given by the effect of the 
right leg of a rider, who at the same time closes the 
fingers of the right hand upon the right rein of the 
curb bit or snaffle. These effects of the right leg 
and right hand have to be executed by a quick 

195 



THE SCIENTIFIC EQUITATION 

movement, yet without occasioning too much sur- 
prise. But the effects of right leg and right hand 
will have a tendency to send the haunches to the 
left rather than forward. Therefore the rider's left 
leg has also to be closed, partly to prevent' the 
haunches from getting away to the left, and partly 
because the attack of the right leg first attracts the 
right hind leg below the center of gravity, and then 
calls the left hind leg to its support, the front legs 
being raised by the effects of the right hand, the 
right ready to extend to receive the weight as the 
foot comes back on the ground. 

All these effects have to be executed with deci- 
sion and precision, in a word, with equestrian tact. 
It is this employment of this left leg of the rider to 
maintain the horse straight at the beginning of the 
gallop to the right, which has created the mistaken 
theory that it is the function of the left leg to start 
the gallop to the right, and of the right leg to start 
the gallop to the left. Such was the foundation of 
the theory of the gallop executed by the diagonal 
biped. 

The motion in diagonal at the gallop shows itself 
only when the horse changes lead from one lateral 
biped to the other. With the gallop on the right 
hind leg, this leg, which is giving the impulse, is 
always in front of the left, which is the more con- 
tinued support. But for the forcible change of lead 
from right to left, the impulsion alters first, and 
after this the support passes to the other leg. The 

196 




Figure 25. second stride in change of lead from 

RIGHT TO LEFT 




Figure 26. third stride in change of lead from 

RIGHT to left 



THE DIAGONAL EFFECT 

right hind leg, therefore, stops, and the left hind leg 
moves forward into position for the impulse, while 
the right hind leg becomes the support. The right 
front leg also becomes a support; but the left fore 
leg extends forward to receive the impulsion. It 
follows, then, that before the left hind leg has made 
contact with the ground and taken over the duty of 
impulsion, the horse is upon a diagonal biped. 
(Figure 24.) 

In order, therefore, to execute the change of lead 
from right to left, the cavalier should, at the instant 
of change, lean to the right, in order to load the 
right lateral biped. This, thereupon, becomes the 
support, and leaves the left lateral biped unloaded 
and off the ground for the very quick movement 
called "change of foot in the air." This whole 
motion, but especially the action of the left hind 
leg, is so rapid that the eye cannot perceive the 
relations of the different limbs. Even photography 
is inadequate to show the action clearly. The cam- 
era can, however, be made to exhibit the left hind 
leg in the different parts of its stride. Thus in Fig- 
ure 25, the left hind leg first disappears behind the 
right; and next after that the right fore leg is flexed. 
Finally, in Figure 26, the left hind leg is on the 
ground, in front of the right and ready for propul- 
sion. The left fore leg is already raised. It will ex- 
tend forward as soon as the right hind leg has ar- 
rived near the left, to assist as support and thus 
allow the left hind leg to continue the impulse. 

197 



THE SCIENTIFIC EQUITATION 

Note, now, the difference between Baucher, Fil- 
lis, and myself. Baucher says, "I do not try to 
explain something inexplicable; it is for the eques- 
trian tact of the esquire to discover how to execute 
the movement." Fillis says, "I make my horse 
gallop to the right by the effect of my left rein and 
my left leg. To change the lead, I employ the op- 
posite effects." 

I, on the contrary, sum up my directions thus: 
By the effect of my right rein, I lift the horse's 
right fore leg. (Figures 18-22.) By the effect of my 
left leg, I raise the horse's left hind leg — the diag- 
onal effect. If, then, the horse's left hind leg is off the 
ground, his right hind leg is pressed forcibly against 
the ground. (Figure 18.) Thereupon, by the effect 
of my right snaffle rein, I compel the horse to extend 
its right fore leg. (Figure 22.) With my right rein 
and my left leg — diagonal effect — I obtain the 
right diagonal biped. With my left rein and my 
right leg — again diagonal effect — I obtain the left 
diagonal biped for the walk and trot. (Figure 21.) 
With my right rein, I raise the horse's right fore leg, 
while with my right leg I raise the horse's right hind 
leg — lateral effect. This right hind leg will come 
to the ground under the center of gravity, and drive 
the body forward. The right fore leg will thereupon 
extend forward for the gallop to the right — lateral 
biped. (Figure 25.) My body, being inclined for- 
ward, will carry forward the center of gravity, and 
the gallop will continue until other forces intervene. 

198 



THE DIAGONAL EFFECT 

And there is all the demonstration of the theorem 
and the solution of the problem! 

Every horse, however, has one side which is more 
supple than the other; and it is better to begin prac- 
tice in changing lead by shifting from the less supple 
to the more supple side. 

Suppose, for example, that the more flexible side 
is the left. My horse being straight, I start it gal- 
loping to the right, by the method given above, and 
keep it going straight. I then reverse all my effects. 
If the horse changes lead, I stop it as soon as may be, 
and recompense its obedience. When it is completely 
calm, I begin again, galloping to the right. After 
several steps, I again change ; and again recompense. 

When the horse understands the change of lead 
from right to left, I proceed in the same way to 
teach the change from left to right. At first, I ask 
the change only after the horse has galloped ten or 
fifteen steps on the same foot. When the horse 
manages this, I reduce the interval progressively, 
first to six or eight steps, then to four, and finally 
to only two. I need not say that this training takes 
time that cannot be measured by days or lessons. 
I progress slowly, ask very little, rest my horse a 
great deal, and keep calm. I do not, under any 
circumstances, permit my horse to choose the lead 
for itself, nor to change foot on its own initiative. 
It is essential that the rider always impose his 
mastership upon the horse's intelligence. The rules 
are: short lessons, precision helped by moderation, 

199 



THE SCIENTIFIC EQUITATION 

recompenses, no overexertion or fatigue. With 
these, success is assured. 

THE FALSE GALLOP 

By "false gallop," we mean galloping on one side 
when turning to the other. A horse is also said to 
gallop false when it leads with either side, after the 
rider has signaled for the other. 

A horse galloping in a straight line leads with 
whichever side the rider determines. If this chances 
to be the left, the rider must change the foot before 
making a turn to the right. Otherwise the horse will 
gallop false. 

Turning on the wrong foot is always dangerous. 
In turning, for example, to the right at the gallop, 
the center of gravity will be displaced toward the 
right, and the right lateral biped will take the longer 
step. All this occurs naturally if the horse is gallop- 
ing to the right. But if it is galloping to the left, the 
right leg cannot reach out to receive the additional 
weight, and the horse may cross its legs and fall. 

The false gallop is, nevertheless, employed in 
training the horse to gallop equally on the two sides, 
and also in teaching it the change of lead on a 
straight line without change of hand. But it should 
be understood that in all such cases the false gallop 
is always asked by the rider, never taken by the 
horse at its own will. It is essential to a well-trained 
saddle horse that it gallop equally to either side, 
and always at the signal of the rider. 

200 



CHAPTER XXIII 
THE FIGURES OF MANEGE 

The figures of manege include all the different 
known movements which a horse executes during 
training or after it is trained. The number is great 
and the character varied; but they are all com- 
pounded from only six elements. These are: for- 
ward, backward, turn to the right, turn to the left, 
half haunches to the right, and half haunches to 
the left, all done at walk, trot, and gallop. 

The masters before Baucher had a wider range of 
figures than since his day, for the reason that they 
trained from movement to position, instead of from 
position to movement, as is now the practice except 
for the army, hunting, and polo. The progression 
for the ordinary equitation has, however, remained 
the same, and consists of the following figures: the 
double ; the changes of direction or changes of hand ; 
the diagonal; the half -volte, reversed half- volte, 
and volte; the circle, with change upon the circle 
and change of circle; the figure eight; the half- 
passage with head to the wall and with croup to the 
wall; the shoulder in; the contre-change of hand. 

These movements, done at walk, trot, and gallop, 
have long constituted, and still constitute, the com- 
plete education of the horse. A park hack is not 
considered fully trained until it can execute these 

201 



THE SCIENTIFIC EQUITATION 

movements, which are, indeed, proof of its good 
manners. They are, moreover, no disadvantage 
for a promenade horse which is to be ridden by 
the same esquire who trained it; though the results 
are most distressing to a rider of less equestrian 
tact. 

THE WALK OF MANEGE 

The walk of manege is simply a very slow walk, 
well cadenced, the steps equal and regular, and 
with the action of the legs less forward, but very 
much higher than in the ordinary walk. 

It cannot be obtained except under the most per- 
fect equilibrium, while the fingering must be even 
more precise than for the piaffer and the backward 
trot, which are derived from it. The rider's legs 
must maintain the center of gravity always exactly 
between the forces of the front and rear limbs, not 
allowing it the least motion from side to side, but 
only up and down with the step. The seat must 
be especially accurate, and the contact absolutely 
permanent. The least alteration of the balance will 
change the walk to the trot, if forward, or, if back- 
ward, will stop the horse. 

To obtain the walk of manege, the rider gradually 
diminishes the speed of the ordinary walk, keeping 
the state of equilibrium as complete as possible. 
By the effects of opposition coupled with great 
accuracy of seat, and by the diagonal effect re- 
peated in tempo, he asks slower and slower steps, 

202 



i 



THE FIGURES OF IVIANEGE 

the horse's action becoming higher and higher as 
the stride is shorter and less quick. 

It is impossible to advise just when in the course 
of the training to begin the walk of manege. It is 
useless to attempt it before the horse has learned to 
keep in equilibrium. It is well not to try for too 
slow or too high an action, to study the horse, and 
at the first sign of success, to yield everything, 
caress, dismount, and stop the lesson. Two, four, 
or six steps are sufficient at one time, and should be 
followed by rest and distraction. 

Take special pains to prevent the two possible 
irregularities, the acculer, or getting behind the 
hand, and the "magpie jump." If either appears, 
stop the practice of the figure and devote at least 
fifteen days to sending the horse forward strongly 
against the bit, equally and at the two hands. This 
is the only cure for these irregularities or defenses. 

Take care not to provoke rearing or the croupade 
by too much precipitancy in your demands. Rear- 
ing will probably be caused by fingering in wrong 
tempo; the croupade by beginning too early the 
alternate effect of the legs, so that the signal to lift 
one biped comes before the other is back on the 
ground, and there is a brief interval when both are 
on the ground. 

Do not expect to secure a perfect walk of manege 
until after you have trained two or three horses. 
Be satisfied at first with a few steps at the gait, and 
occasional changes of direction. The great point 

203 



THE SCIENTIFIC EQUITATION 

IS to perfect your own equestrian tact. When that 
is done, all your difficulties are easily surmounted. 
The walk of manege is the highest proof of the 
state of equilibrium, and you must learn to feel the 
horse under you flexing all its joints, developing its 
power, and cadencing its walk with a great but 
calm ardor, slow and high. When a horse has at- 
tained to the walk of manege, in complete equilib- 
rium, every feat of the scientific equitation becomes 
possible both to rider and to steed. 

TO ENTER THE CORNERS 

"To enter the corner" is a manege expression 
meaning not to let the horse pass the corner of the 
enclosure close in or far out at its own will. 

The manege is commonly rectangular, with two 
long and two short sides and a surrounding wall. 
The horse travels straight along the sides, but 
changes direction at the angles, to the right if being 
ridden with its right side toward the center — "at 
right hand" as it is called — to the left if the other 
way. Naturally, the animal tends to follow the 
barrier, and will, therefore, instinctively and of its 
own volition, make the turn before getting quite to 
the corner, or else will put its head against the wall 
and stop. In either case, the rider loses an oppor- 
tunity to practice the management of his mount. 

For in a manege of ordinary size, say one hun- 
dred and fifty feet by seventy, a horse in the course 
of an hour's lesson will turn a corner about two 

204 



I 



ABCD "Quadi-anQ"ufar mane&e ^ 4 coiners 

BCAD -short sides 

AB'CD -long sides 

R -piste af the light hand 

L -piste at the left hand, 

K 'corner fully entered - coneci" 

N "corner not properju entered - incorrecr 



THE SCIENTIFIC EQUITATION 

hundred and forty times, half at the right hand, 
half at the left. If, then, the rider directs the animal 
at each turn, he obtains valuable practice in guid- 
ing his mount, and so learns to perform the act 
intuitively and without effort. Otherwise, not only 
does the rider miss the opportunity, but, in ad- 
dition, the horse, not knowing the difference be- 
tween being straight and being crooked, gets the 
habit of crossing its legs, and when asked to go for- 
ward and straight, carries its rider to the center of 
the area. 

CHANGE OF DIRECTION 

The ancient and the mediaeval equitation had it 
that the turn to the right is to be made by means of 
the right rein of snaffle or bit and the left leg. Bau- 
cher agrees with this. According to him, the right 
rein flexes the neck to the right. The left leg pre- 
vents the haunches from swinging toward the left, 
while the right leg sends the rear limbs along the 
arc of a circle of greater or smaller radius. Fillis, 
though more practical than Baucher, grants that 
Baucher's opinion has been generally accepted. 

But to turn to the right by means of right leg and 
right rein involves the principle of the lateral equita- 
tion, with all its practical errors, a principle which 
cannot be accepted by the scientific equitation. It 
is not merely the horse's shoulders which turn; it is 
the entire horse. The horse is first straight and 
upon the rider's hand. Then the rider gives the 

206 



THE FIGURES OF MANEGE 

new direction by the reins, and by his legs Impels 
the animal in it. But, of course, the effect of the 
right rein is to send the haunches toward the left, so 
that the horse is no longer straight. Then comes 
the effect of the left leg to keep it straight by pre- 
venting the swing of the haunches to the left. But 
under the impulse of the left leg alone, the horse 
executes a pirouette, haunches pushed to the right 
by the rider's left leg, shoulders pulled to the right 
by the right rein. 

I myself hold to a more rational theory, which 
differs from the principle of the old lateral equita- 
tion, and also from the reasoned equitation of 
Baucher and Fillis. The honse is either assembled 
or it is not. If it is not, go as you please. The horse 
makes the turn, and that is all. If the horse is as- 
sembled, the rider controls the center of gravity. 
This is sine qua non for the scientific equitation, 
which, moreover, admits at the walk and trot no 
other effects than the diagonal, either to obtain the 
equilibrium or to execute any movement. The gal- 
lop, which is the only lateral gait, requires other 
effects for changes of direction, of which more 
shortly. 

When the horse is traveling straight at the walk, 
its feet follow the two parallel lines AC and BD, by 
a diagonal stride in which BC and AD support 
alternately the center of gravity at O. In order for 
the horse to turn to the right, the line CD moves to 
the position PL, it sends following the arcs of con- 

207 



THE SCIENTIFIC EQUITATION 

centric circles, as the center of gravity travels from 
O to M ; otherwise the equilibrium will be lost. Evi- 
dently, the two left legs must travel farther than 
the two right legs. 

But the length of the stride does not affect the 
velocity or the momentum; consequently, it does 
not change the center of gravity. The left front leg, 
if it is to gain more ground than the right, must be 
unloaded, since the rule is that any leg cannot 
leave the ground before the weight which it carries 
has been transferred to another support. This we 
accomplish by flexing the head slightly to the left, 
and at the same time we establish the fixed point of 
the rhomboidus and mastoido-humeralis muscles at 
the left side of the atlas region. Thereupon the un- 
loaded left shoulder will cover the longer distance 
CL while the loaded right shoulder is covering the 
shorter distance DP and serving as pivot and sup- 
port for the center of gravity, which remains on 
OM. 

But for the impulsion of the hind quarters, both 
the rider's legs are necessary. The left prevents the 
haunches from yielding to the effect of the right, 
and thus departing from the proper path ACL. 
The right leg of the rider pushes forward the right 
hind leg of the horse, and since this is prevented 
from moving toward the left off the line BDP, the 
center of gravity must remain on the line OM ; and 
momentum, velocity, and equilibrium remain al- 
tered. 

208 



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THE SCIENTIFIC EQUITATION 

The same movement at the trot is executed in 
accord with the same principles and by the same 
means. The rider, however, needs to make a some- 
what more forcible effect to obtain the same result 
— a fact which goes to confirm this theory of 
change of direction in diagonal. 

The idea of using the left rein for a turn to the 
right is bound to give rise to much discussion. But 
the reader is already familiar with the rein of con- 
traction, or guiding by the neck, w^here the rider 
employs his right leg, and at the same time, by 
carrying his hand to the right, draws on the left 
rein. This new principle, created by myself, I have 
considered and practiced long years. The results 
convince me of its truth. 

The horse mounted by a rider carries a very con- 
siderable weight, a fact which both Baucher and 
Fillis have completely neglected. Baucher, to be 
sure, has recognized the seat as a third means of 
control. But what is the vseat, if the weight sup- 
ported by it is ignored? These two masters advo- 
cate, with reason, collection, the assemblage of all 
the forces of the animal at a center, and the result- 
ing state of equilibrium. The horse is placed in this 
state by the effects of hand and legs, and main- 
tained there by the same means. They point out, 
rightly, that the horse in equilibrium is comparable 
to a large ball, in contact with the ground at a 
single point, so that the least weight added to one 
side starts the movement in that direction. When, 

210 



THE FIGURES OF MANEGE 

therefore, a horse is in equilibrium, the shifting of 
the rider's weight from his left haunch to his right 
will turn the horse and send him forward to the right. 
Are we, then, outside the natural laws of motion? 
No. We are obeying the law which teaches that a 
body in motion will continue to move along the same 
straight line until another force interferes. This 
other force is the rider's weight, which, when applied 
at one side of the center of gravity, displaces this 
and forces the horse to turn in that direction. 

All this is undeniable. It is easy, therefore, to 
understand the fights of these two masters with the 
horses educated by them. The horses walked and 
trotted in diagonal. The riders employed the lat- 
eral effects. The horses galloped in lateral. The 
riders, to train them to that gait, used a half- 
diagonal effect. Naturally, the horses became con- 
fused between their instinctive gaits and the riders' 
effects which were flatly contrary to them. 

However, if a horse is not in a state of equilib- 
rium, this change of weight will have no effect, and 
the scientific equitation is not concerned with the 
matter. 

THE DOUBLE 

The double is a figure of manege In which the rider 
crosses the quadrangle from side to side and returns 
to the original piste at the same hand. It involves, 
therefore, merely two changes of direction to one 
side or the other. 

211 



^^ s > s > ^ 



The Doutle to the Right 



A 



THE FIGURES OF MANEGE 

The movement ivS simple, and easy of execution 
for the experienced rider with a horse that is suf- 
ficiently advanced with its education. The essential 
point is to manage correctly the first change of 
direction, and then to guide the horse exactly 
straight across to the other side of the manege for 
the second change which completes the double. At 
first view, it looks very easy to do this; but in prac- 
tice it is not so simple, and the maneuver is asked of 
the horse precisely in order to accustom it to change 
and return straight. The rider also will find the 
double educative if he does it correctly. The point 
is to cure any hesitation on the part of the horse in 
turning to either side, and to get it to place itself 
exactly straight from head to croup as soon as it has 
turned. The rider who can do the double correctly 
at walk, trot, and gallop is on the road toward the 
perfect education of his horse. 

CHANGE OF HAND 

Change of hand is very useful in training horses to 
be equal in their gaits, and also for teaching riders 
to execute figures on either side when instruction is 
given in classes. 

Both the old and the newer schools of equitation 
prescribe that in riding at the right hand — that is 
to say, with right side toward the center of the ring 
— both reins of the bit, together with the left rein 
of the snaffle, are to be held in the left hand , while 
the right rein of the snaffle alone is to be held in the 

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THE FIGURES OF MANEGE 

right hand, since all turns are to be made to the 
right. This arrangement follows from the confused 
ideas of the lateral equitation and from the princi- 
ples developed by Baucher for changes of direction. 

The scientific equitation, on the other hand, pre- 
scribes that, in riding at the right hand, the two 
reins of the bit and the right rein of the snaffle shall 
be in the right hand and the left snaffle rein in the 
left, for all movements in diagonal, that is to say, 
at walk and trot. But for movements at the gallop, 
the curb reins are to be transferred to the left hand 
and only the snaffle rein held in the right, because 
the gallop is a lateral gait. 

When riding at the right hand, the horseman may 
change hand by means of a great variety of move- 
ments — changes in width, in length, in diagonal, 
the half-volte, or the reversed half-volte, all of 
which will be discussed shortly. All changes of hand 
are, however, really nothing but changes of direc- 
tion. But since in reversing the side which is toward 
the center of the ring, there has to be also a revers- 
ing of the position of the reins in the hands, changes 
of direction have come to be called changes of hand. 

THE CIRCLE 

The circle is a figure of manege executed near the 
center of the ring by a single horseman, or by sev- 
eral horsemen following one another. This figure 
may also be executed on a road, a piste, or a field. 
The ancient equitation and that of the Middle 

215 



THE SCIENTIFIC EQUITATION 

Ages used the circle to train the horse to bend its 
spine in the direction of the turn, by yielding to the 
lateral effects of hand and legs, but without altera- 
tion of gait. It was employed especially to teach the 



^return on the 
piste 



on the c 




Circle 



animal to take the gallop, since a horse walking of 
trotting on a circle to the right is already placed. 
Its neck is already somewhat turned by the snaffle, 
and to change to the gallop it needs only the im- 
pulse of the rider's legs to augment the action of the 
right hind limb. The circle, therefore, taken alter- 
nately at the two hands and by means of the lateral 
effects, will soon teach the horse to gallop to either 
side. 

This movement, very easy in the lateral equita- 
tion, is much more complicated in the reasoned 

216 



THE FIGURES OF MANEGE 

equitation at the trot and walk. In this case, the 
center of gravity has to be maintained by the 
rider's seat, while at the same time, in circling to 
the right, the horse's neck has to be inclined slightly 
to the left, in order to unload the left front leg, so 
that this may gain more ground than its mate, 
which acts more or less as a pivot. Meanwhile, the 
rider's right leg is impelling the horse's right hind 
leg around the circular path, and his left leg is pre- 
venting the haunches from getting away toward 
the left at the effect of his right. 

At the gallop, circling to the right, the position 
and the effects of the rider's legs are the same, 
except that now the horse's nose is carried a little 
to the right, by the action of the snaffle, in order to 
unload the right fore leg, which now has to be lifted 
higher than the left and to gain more ground. The 
center of gravity is now more on the right side, but 
always in the middle, though slightly back under 
the rider's right haunch. 

Doubles upon the circle are executed by crossing 
on a diameter and continuing once more along the 
circumference at the same hand. If, however, the 
rider, after passing the center, turns in the other 
direction on the circumference, he is said to execute 
a change of hand on the circle. Evidently, the 
circle is merely a continuation of the two voltes, in 
which the horse is maintained upon the circular 
line. 

The important point in this work on the circle is 

217 



THE SCIENTIFIC EQUITATION 

to keep the horse, whether walking, trotting, or 
galloping, always with all four feet in the circular 
path, never letting the hind quarters stray inside 
or outside the fixed line. Evidently, in circling at 
the right hand, the partial flexion of the head to the 
right will tend to throw the haunches outside the 
true path, so that it requires a very accurate effect 
of the rider's outside leg to correct this fault to 
just the right degree. Moreover, the circle itself, 
throughout the movement, should remain of pre- 
cisely the same size, in spite of the tendency to 
become smaller or larger. 

THE VOLTE 

The volte is a circular movement, executed in the 
manege or outside, in which the horse changes direc- 
tion in three steps of one yard each, and in twelve 
steps completes the circle. 

Before the days of the scientific equitation, the 
volte was asked at all three gaits by the lateral ef- 
fects. The new equitation asks the volte at walk and 
trot by means of the diagonal effects, and only at 
the gallop by means of the lateral. In this, I am 
completely opposed to the principles of my prede- 
cessors, Baucher, Fillis, Anderson, and their con- 
temporaries. 

Consider, therefore, just what is involved in the 
execution of a volte, let us say to the right. The 
horse, in order to send its inert weight to the right 
while keeping the center of gravity at the middle 

218 



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/. 



/ 



f 



/ 



/ 




/ 



/ \ 



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\ volf 

I 
/ 



\ / 



/ 



*^ 



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' half volf 



/ 



/ 



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/ 



THE SCIENTIFIC EQUITATION 

point of the medial plane, must dispose its legs in 
the following manner: The right front leg is the 
chief point of support, since it is nearer the center; 
but the left leg, since it is farther away from the 
center, travels the longer path. The right hind leg 
has to do more work than the left, since in addition 
to supporting its share of the weight, it does more 
than its share in driving the body forward. 

It follows from this that at walk and trot the 
proper effects for the volte are a very limited flexion 
of the head to the left, pressure of the rider's right 
leg close behind the girth, and pressure of the left 
leg farther back, to keep the horse's left hind leg on 
the circular line. At the gallop, on the contrary, 
the flexion of the head is to the right, to unload the 
right front leg and allow it to gain more ground 
than the left. The effects of the legs are, however, 
exactly the same as for the diagonal gaits. The 
rider's right leg maintains the gallop to the right by 
its stronger effect on the horse's right hind leg, 
while his left leg holds the rear limbs in the circle. 

Now, the walk and trot are movements made in 
diagonal. Why, then, ask a creature, which nat- 
urally and by instinct moves in diagonal, to turn 
by lateral effects? Fillis himself had doubts con- 
cerning the propriety of this method of changing 
direction ; for after considering the question he adds, 
"The opinion of Baucher has prevailed and the 
lateral effect has been accepted." But in the lateral 
effect, the right rein flexes the horse's neck to the 

220 



THE FIGURES OF MANEGE 

right, and therefore loads the left front leg, al- 
though this has to gain more ground than the 
unloaded right. Meanwhile, the rider's left leg 
pushes the haunches to the right and upon the right 
hind leg, directing these to the right instead of to 
the left in order to turn the horse to the right. It is 
even the more surprising that these same masters 
execute the volte at the gallop by the very same 
means as at the walk and trot, notwithstanding the 
fact that these gaits involve an entirely different 
disposition of the mechanism. 

My own honest opinion is that these masters 
were asking, by lateral effects, movements which 
the horse executed by diagonal gaits, and so con- 
fused their mounts thereby that, when they at- 
tempted such diagonal movements as the piaffer, 
passage, Spanish walk, and Spanish trot, the ani- 
mals resisted. The result was quarrels and fights 
between man and horse. I, on the other hand, never 
have fights. When my horse walks or trots, in di- 
agonal, all movements are asked by diagonal effects. 
But when the horse gallops, in lateral, all move- 
ments are asked by lateral effects. My mount has 
always all its natural forces in their instinctive 
relation. 

THE HALF- VOLTE 

In executing the half-volte, the horse makes two 
successive changes of direction, so that he faces the 
opposite way from his original position. Suppose, 

221 



THE SCIENTIFIC EQUITATION 

for example, the horse Is traveling along a piste, at 
right hand, and near the wall. A change of direction 
at the corner of the manege, followed immediately 
by another, places the animal about three steps 
away from the wall and facing toward what was 
the rear. Thereupon, moving on a diagonal line, 
the horse returns to the piste. 

The half-volte is, then, simple enough as a move- 
ment of the ordinary equitation. It becomes de- 
cidely complicated when performed as a figure of 
the reasoned equitation. The rider, as above, em- 
ploys the left diagonal effect to reverse the direction 
of the horse's movement; and then immediately 
changes to the right diagonal effect to return to the 
piste by means of a half-passage of twelve steps at 
the most. The formula is, therefore, for walk and 
trot: left rein; right leg near the girth, to maintain 
the hind hand for the about-face; then, when the 
two changes of direction are complete, right rein, 
left leg behind the girth, right leg near the girth, to 
maintain the regularity of the forward action during 
the half-passage. 

At the gallop, the means are still more compli- 
cated. The horse is at the right hand and leading 
to the right. The procedure is, therefore: right rein, 
right leg near the girth, left leg behind the girth to 
maintain the haunches during the turn; then, for 
the half-passage, left leg behind the girth to push 
the horse to the right. As the horse comes once 
more to the piste, the action becomes : left rein and 

222 



THE FIGURES OF MANEGE 

left leg to control the left lateral biped, right leg to 
maintain the haunches straight and to change the 
lead from right to left, since we are now riding at 
left hand. 

One should practice the half-volte several times 
in the simpler form before trying to add the half- 
passage, and should not attempt the latter move- 
ment until the figure is perfectly clear in the mind. 
But the ordinary half-volte is nothing more than 
the ordinary pirouette, taken at walk, trot, or gal- 
lop, and continued by the twelve steps of the half- 
passage with a change of lead. 

THE REVERSED HALF- VOLTE 

In the reversed half-volte, the horse travels over 
the same path as in the direct figure, but in the 
opposite direction. Thus, for the reversed half- 
volte, done at the right hand, a half-passage to the 
right of twelve steps takes the animal away from 
the wall of the manege. Then two changes of direc- 
tion or a half-circle to the left complete the re- 
turn to the wall with an about-face and a change of 
hand. 

The means are, therefore, for the half-passage at 
walk or trot, the right diagonal effect — right rein, 
right leg near the girth, and the haunches pushed 
over to the right by the left leg behind the girth — 
with continuance of the same effect to produce the 
two changes of direction, until the horse is once 
more straight, but at the opposite hand. 

223 



THE SCIENTIFIC EQUITATION 

At the gallop, the horse makes the half-passage 
leading to the right; the lead then changes to the 
left for the two changes of direction. Consequently, 
after the completion of the half-passage, the left 
rein and the left leg alter the lead, while the right 
leg prevents the haunches from going too far to the 
right and maintains the gallop by keeping the horse 
inclined upon the circular line. 

If the horse's education has been wisely progres- 
sive, especially if the progress has not been too 
rapid, the two half-voltes are easily performed 
simply by the master's equestrian tact. But if the 
training has been irregular, then they become com- 
plicated and difficult. In this case, it is better to 
have the horse move in a straight line in place of 
the half-passage, changing the lead when necessary. 
Done in this way, the figure belongs to the ordi- 
nary or lateral equitation. Properly, however, it is 
twelve steps of the half-passage, completed by a 
reversed pirouette at walk, trot, or gallop. 

THE FIGURE EIGHT 

The figure eight involves two circles, one to the 
right, the other to the left, done at the center of the 
manege or anywhere away from walls. 

The older methodists, both of the Middle Ages 
and of modern times, prescribed the lateral effects 
of hand and legs in order to hold the horse's entire 
body, from front limbs to rear, flexed upon the 
circle on which it travels. It is necessary for this 

224 



THE SCIENTIFIC EQUITATION 

figure that the horse's education shall be somewhat 
advanced, in order that the curve of the spine may 
conform to that of the path. When, in addition to 
this, the flexion has to reverse with each new circle, 
the difficulty is much increased, so that the figure 
demands great suppleness in, and perfect collection 
on the part of, the horse, and for the rider an eques- 
trian tact sufficient to enable him to reverse his 
effects at each change of circle without disturbing 
the equilibrium of his mount. 

The figure eight has been a great deal used for 
suppling the horse, and is still employed for this 
purpose by modern teachers and in military schools. 
The scientific equitation, how^ever, comes to it only 
after the horse is completely suppled. Inexperi- 
enced trainers often utilize the figure to teach a 
horse to change lead; and this method is harmless 
and practical. Judges at horse shows have the 
competitors execute the figure eight in order to dis- 
cover the degree of suppleness and training of the 
horses. It serves also as a test for the side and the 
limb affected by lameness. 

SHOULDER-IN 

Shoulder-in is an old air of manege, in which the 
horse moves sidewise. It differs from the half- 
passage in that it is performed in lateral, whereas 
the half-passage is in diagonal. The name is a mis- 
nomer. Possibly it arose from the fact that in exe- 
cuting the figure the horse is usually headed to- 

226 



THE FIGURES OF MANEGE 

ward the center of the manege with croup toward 
the wall. 

To obtain the shoulder-in, from left to right, the 
rider, having his mount in hand and forward, in- 
creases the pull of the left rein to flex the head and 
neck slightly to the left. At the same time, he in- 
creases also the effect of his left leg, carrying it a 
little backward on the flank, and thus pushes the 
haunches toward the right. Meanwhile, the right 
rein prevents the complete flexion of the neck to the 
left, and forces the left shoulder toward the right in 
front of the right leg. 

The result is that the horse's left front leg passes 
in front of and across the right, while at the same 
time the left hind leg also passes in front of and 
across its mate. Thereupon, the horse, in order not 
to fall, steps out to the right with both right legs, 
and the first step of the shoulder-in is completed. 
Continuing the same effects continues the move- 
ment. 

But the student, who considers anatomically the 
mechanism of the horse and its action in the various 
movements, will agree with the anatomist that the 
muscles and articulations of the horse's shoulder 
are not designed to allow natural movements of the 
humerus and scapula in any direction except for- 
ward and back. The horse, in short, is not a crab, 
built to go sidewise. The shoulder-in and the half- 
passage are therefore unnatural contortions com- 
pelled by riders who know no better. 

227 



THE SCIENTIFIC EQUITATION 

HALF- PASSAGE 

This air can be asked of the horse only after it has 
learned to cede from the neck at the effects of the 
reins and from the haunches at the effect of the legs. 
To obtain the movement, the horse, walking at left 
hand, is first stopped, and then made to execute a 
reversed pirouette, by means of the rider's right leg 
and a quarter flexion of the head to the left by 
means of the left rein. Thus, the horse's head stays 
against the wall, while the haunches make a half- 
circle to the left. This first movement is complete 
when the horse has faced about and is at the right 
hand. Immediately thereupon the rider caresses 
the horse's right flank. The position of collection is 
again asked, and the horse carried forward at right 
hand. After a few steps, the animal is again halted 
and put through the reversed pirouette from left to 
right. 

In all this, the rider has to remember that the 
employment of one of his legs does not mean the 
complete cessation of the effect of the other, and he 
has also always to bear in mind the principle, sine 
qua non, forward, forward, always. Consequently, 
when the reversed pirouette is asked from right 
to left, the rider's right leg first sends the horse 
forward. 

As soon as the horse understands the reversed 
pirouette after being stopped, the rider has it exe- 
cute the same movement without the stop. When 

228 



THE FIGURES OF MANEGE 

this IS mastered, the rider, still keeping the animal 
moving forward by the effect of his inside leg, by 
repeated effects of the left leg, causes the horse to 
execute two or three steps of the reversed pirouette 
while still gaining ground forward, the head against 
the wall and the haunches toward the center of the 




HALF-PASSAGE, HEAD TO WALL 



manege. After a few steps of this, the horse is again 
sent forward; and after a few more steps, the half- 
passage is again asked. When the horse executes 
this movement calmly and with ease, the rider first 
asks the half-passage, and then completes the move- 
ment by half a reversed pirouette, to complete the 
change of hand without stopping. The horse being 
now at the new hand, the half-passage is again 

229 



THE SCIENTIFIC EQUITATION 

asked, and as before completed by a reversed pir- 
Guette after a few steps at the new hand. 

When the horse does the half-passage correctly 
with its head against the wall, it is removed from 
the barrier by a change of hand in diagonal. During 
the entire time of this diagonal change, the horse 
will be kept straight. But when it comes to within 
five to seven steps of the wall at the new hand, the 
rider will begin the half-passage, so as to reach the 
wall at least ten steps from the corner. 

For example, the rider, at right hand, makes the 
diagonal change of hand by going straight through 
the center of the ring, and, having passed this, keeps 
straight on until the horse is five, six, or seven steps 
from the wall. Here, he asks the half-passage from 
left to right — right leg for forward, right rein and 
augmentation of the effect of the left leg for the 
half-passage. When, by this movement, the horse 
is brought parallel to the wall, the rider stops the 
horse, caresses its left flank, and keeps it standing 
still for some moments to allow the movement to 
fix itself in its memory. It is then carried forward 
to pass the corner. 

The rider, now at the left hand, once more asks 
the diagonal change of hand and the half-passage 
with everything now reversed. When the five to 
seven steps of the half-passage are done correctly, 
their number is progressively but moderately in- 
creased, until finally the entire diagonal change of 
hand is made by means of the half-passage. 

230 



THE FIGURES OF MANEGE 

When the animal is able to cross the ring at the 
half-passage correctly, it is taught the original move- 
ment with its croup, instead of its head, against the 
wall. For this, the rider, after passing the corner of 
the manege and starting down the long side, begins 
an ordinary diagonal change with the horse straight. 




HALF-PASSAGE, SHOULDER-IN 

But as soon as the horse has completed, at most, 
four steps of this movement, it is made to execute a 
half-passage, with head toward the center of the 
ring and tail toward the wall. After a few steps of 
the half-passage, the horse is again sent forward, 
parallel to the wall but four steps out, and then is 
brought back to the wall, at the same hand as 
at the beginning, by a few steps of another half- 
passage. With moderate progress at each lesson, 
the horse is, after a few days, brought to travel the 

231 



THE SCIENTIFIC EQUITATION 

entire length of the side of the manege at the half- 
passage. 

By the same progression as for the half-passage 
at the walk, the horse is next trained to the half- 
passage at the trot. 

When this is well executed, then comes the 
shoulder-in at the gallop. Galloping to the right 
hand, head against the wall, does not need a change 
of lead. But for the change of hand diagonally, the 
horse must change the lead when the change of 
hand is completed and before passing the corner. 
So too, for the shoulder-in with the horse's head 
toward the center of the enclosure and the croup 
toward the wall, the horse has to be galloping at 
the opposite hand. 

If, for example, the rider is at right hand and 
wishes to execute the shoulder-in from right to left, 
at the same hand, over a line parallel to the long 
side of the manege, and with the horse's head to- 
ward the center and the croup to the wall, it is 
evident that the first part of the movement which 
puts the head inward must be done with a right 
lead. Then for the shoulder-in, the lead must 
change from right to left. But when the horse once 
more travels straight along the wall, it is, as before, 
at the right hand and must lead once more to the 
right. At first, however, it is better to decompose 
the movement, changing from the gallop to the trot, 
at the end of each portion, and then returning once 
more to the gallop with the proper lead. When, 

232 



THE FIGURES OF MANEGE 

however, the horse makes the change of lead in the 
course of the movement, these changes are made 
without pause or change of gait. 

CONTRE-CHANGE OF HANDS 

CoNTRE-CHANGE of hand is a figure of manege re- 
sembHng the square. After the horse has passed the 
short side of the ring and has taken about ten steps 
on the long side, the rider begins a diagonal change 
of direction by the half-passage. Arrived at the 
point. A, ten steps from the center, O, of the ma- 
nege, the horse is put straight again for twenty steps 
to B; and after that returns to the long side by a 
half-passage at C, at the same hand as before the 
execution of the figure. 

At the walk the figure is quite complicated if the 
tempo of the gait is regular; but the trot is more 
complicated, because of the difficulty in obtaining 
the tempo and the regular number of steps. 

At the gallop, the difficulties are multiplied by 
the three changes of lead. The rider being at the 
right hand before the movement, executes the half- 
passage leading to the right to A or B, at which 
point the lead has to be changed from right to left 
to execute the half- passage from B to C. Arrived 
at C, the lead is to the left and has to be changed to 
the right at C. Finally, the horse, now returned to 
the right-hand lead, has to turn the corner at this 
new hand, which is the same as that before the 
execution of the figure. 

234 



CHAPTER XXIV 
MY OWN SYSTEM 

The various figures of manege, together with the 
low airs of the high school, constitute the circus 
equitation. This differs from the equitation savante in 
that while the one keeps the horse always in the state 
of equilibrium, the other neglects this, and depends 
for the horse's training upon straps, tricks, and the 
memory of caresses or severe punishments. Never- 
theless, Franconi, Baucher, and Fillis have shown in 
the beautiful circuses of European capitals some 
horses which, always in the state of equilibrium, ex- 
ecuted these low airs so brilliantly that they have 
never been equaled. 

Baucher offered his system to the different cav- 
alries of Europe, but without success. Fillis, though 
not accepted in France, became instructor to the 
officers of the royal chevaux-legers in Belgium, and 
also taught for several years at the cavalry school 
in Russia. Both these grand masters were continu- 
ally studying the application of their principles; and 
because of their great reputations, they were able to 
obtain, for education or purchase, some animals of a 
quality, both of temper and of conformation, very 
near perfection, and in every way greatly superior 
to the general run of horses. 

I, on the other hand, like other artists, always 

235 



THE SCIENTIFIC EQUITATION 

poor, have always been criticized for the inferior 
natural quality and conformation of the horses 
which I have trained. I have, therefore, amidst all 
the confusion of theories, methods, and principles, 
devoted my life to training imperfect animals. In 
so doing, I have had opportunity to discover what 
is right and what wrong in the methods of my 
predecessors. They selected perfect animals and 
taught them the low airs in the state of equilibrium. 
I have taken imperfect animals, and by means of 
the low airs, using these as gymnastics, have cor- 
rected their imperfections, and brought them to a 
conformation that makes the state of equilibrium 
possible. 

I have been so invariably successful in correcting 
and educating the horses which I have owned, or 
which have been sent to me for training, that as 
early as in March, 1888, a commission of the United 
States Army was sent to my school to examine into 
my system. A portion of their report appears in the 
Appendix. 

The modus operandi of my method, and the 
progression of movements of the low airs which I 
employ as a system of physical culture for the 
horse, are best explained by specific examples. In 
general, the scientific equitation can locate the 
cause of lameness or unsoundness more precisely 
than can a veterinarian, since the latter has neither 
the equestrian tact nor the accuracy of seat to de- 
tect the member which is not acting as it should. 

236 



MY OWN SYSTEM 

For instance, a horse has some disease, no matter 
what, affecting the left fore foot. A veterinary 
treats the trouble, but the horse, during the treat- 
ment, shrinks from putting its weight on the lame 
foot. The muscles, tendons, and ligaments of the 
left fore leg, therefore, doing less than their full 
duty, become more or less atrophied, while the 
right fore leg, doing more than its share, becomes 
correspondingly developed. When, at length, the 
diseased foot is cured and once more sound, no 
trouble appears so long as the horse stands still. 
But as soon as it begins to move, the weaker left 
leg fails to stride symmetrically with the stronger 
right. The trouble is, however, no longer in the foot, 
but in the muscles, ligaments, or tendons of the leg. 
The remedy is, then, gymnastic, to bring the weak 
organ to the level of the rest of the body. This be- 
longs to the master of the scientific equitation. It 
is exactly like the case of a man kept in bed with a 
broken limb, whose physician gives him at first 
massage, and then, after the bone is knit, turns 
him over to an instructor in gymnastics, who, by 
flexions and exercises, restores the energy and elas- 
ticity which the patient lost during his enforced 
rest. 

I have, I have said, always been criticized for 
not buying good and sound animals for myself, as 
other masters do. But to educate such an animal 
teaches the rider nothing. It is too easy. The mas- 
ter does not prove his own ability nor the practical 

237 



THE SCIENTIFIC EQUITATION 

usefulness of his art by training horses already 
made nearly perfect by nature. The test of his 
science and his utility lies in his ability to correct 
the natural defects of an ordinary animal and make 
it useful. 

But how can a teacher of this art direct his pupils, 
if he does not himself understand the importance, 
direct or indirect, of what he teaches.-* "An ounce 
of prevention," says the proverb, "is worth a 
pound of cure." Riding-masters, teach your learn- 
ers correct seat and correct effects, in order that 
they may not themselves lame their horses! 

To take now an example of a very different sort, 
I have seen, in the course of a lifetime passed in 
studying horses, some that were near perfection 
after their education was finished, but not before. 
One and all, before they were trained, they had 
some defect of conformation or of temper. Further- 
more, I have particularly noticed that physical de- 
fect has a great influence on the temper. For if a 
horse has the conformation and the strength to 
accomplish what the rider asks, it makes no differ- 
ence what the service may be, the horse will try its 
best if only it is treated with humanity and intel- 
ligence. But if a horse is weak, or badly conformed, 
or too young for the task put upon it, notwithstand- 
ing all its good-will it cannot obey for lack of physi- 
cal power. It tries, fails, and refuses. If then, the 
rider, neither humane nor intelligent, treats the 
horse brutally or unjustly, the animal's retentive 

238 



MY OWN SYSTEM 

memory stamps the lesson on its temper. It be- 
comes restive, vicious, dangerous. 

My long observation and study convince me, 
moreover, that not only does the physical strength 
of the horse affect its temper; the very temper itself 
is created by the treatment which the animal re- 
ceives. This treatment, more or less practical, more 
or less reasoned, is the horse's education. The mem- 
ory of wrong treatment is what fixes the instinctive 
reactions which we term defense, restiveness, and 
vice. Is it not, after all, precisely on this basis that 
we direct the child's development to manhood? 

Or to take yet another example illustrative of 
my principles, every horse, like every man, though 
on the whole well conformed, is virtually never 
exactly the same on the two sides of the body. We 
ourselves are either right- or left-handed, and usu- 
ally right- or left-legged. We seldom have quite the 
same power or freedom in one set of members as in 
the other. 

This asymmetry of the two halves of the body Is, 
in the horse, known as "side." All methodists, 
from Xenophon to the present day, have recognized 
the defect. I shall not dwell on the various causes 
which various writers have assigned for the trouble. 
It is sufficient to point out that it exists, undeniably; 
and that it appears at birth. The young creature, 
therefore, its "side" being uncorrected, forms the 
habit of moving unsymmetrically. Certain of its 
members, thereupon, being slightly less energet- 

239 



THE SCIENTIFIC EQUITATION 

ically employed than their mates, develop less 
strength. In the end, slight atrophies result which 
derange the precise equality of the strides, steps, 
and gaits. The horse does not go sound, and is con- 
demned as lame. Naturally, such "side" is a more 
serious matter for a horse than for a man, since the 
horse gets its utility from its locomotion and the 
movement of its four members. 

This inequality, this atrophy, is not easily located 
by the non-professional, often not even by the veter- 
inarian. The inequality or the lameness is apparent. 
But which leg is at fault, or where in the stride the 
derangement occurs, is, in the opinion of competent 
veterinarians, a very complicated problem. The 
cause may be in a hind leg, while the effect appears 
in a perfectly sound front one. 

Recognizing the importance of this matter, and 
interested also because of my ownership of a great 
variety of horses in my different schools, I have 
studied the problem deeply, and as the result of 
wide experience aided by experiments, I have devel- 
oped a system which was adopted by General P. H. 
Sheridan, after a favorable report from a board 
of army officers. 

This system involves locating the derangement, 
discovering its causes, and then repairing the defect 
by means of the low airs of the high school. A com- 
plete account is beyond the scope of the present 
work, but I shall be glad to supply complete in- 
formation to the interested reader. I touch upon 

240 



MY OWN SYSTEM 

the matter here to emphasize the difference between 
myself, on the one hand, and Baucher and Fillis, 
on the other. They employ these airs of manege 
for the sake of public exhibition. I use them as a 
means of correction or development. I want a horse, 
sound, strong, and well developed, in order to have 
a square and equal walk, trot, or gallop. Since it is 
impossible to find a horse having these qualities 
by nature, I attain my object by means of gym- 
nastic exercises derived from the movements of the 
high school. 

I have, then, invented no new air of high school, 
though I have complicated some old ones, but al- 
ways for the sake of more strength, more precision, 
more energy. I begin my course of training always 
by the work with the longe, the horse turning the 
circle successively at the two hands. It is during 
this first part of the horse's education that I make 
my diagnosis of the case, and my prognosis. That 
done, I attack immediately the local cause of any 
derangement. 

For example, the horse, walking round the circle, 
proves weak in loins, coupling, hind quarters. I 
load it progressively with a proper weight, and 
watch its progress. When it carries the weight 
energetically with its hind quarters, I make it walk 
backward, a few steps at a time, several times at 
each lesson. When its progress becomes still more 
evident, I mount and continue the education by 
flexions, pirouettes, reversed pirouettes, and back- 

241 



THE SCIENTIFIC EQUITATION 

ing, until finally I come to the assemblage. When 
this state is attained, I use the piaffer from the 
beginning, progressively. When a saddle horse can 
execute the piaffer, the hind hand has all the 
strength needed to carry weight over wall, hurdle, 
or ditch. 

Another example. My horse shows that it is 
weak in its left stride. I immediately begin the 
Spanish walk, demanding more movement of the 
left front leg than of the right. Then I exact pro- 
gressively the Spanish trot, provided that the trou- 
ble is localized in the left shoulder, a point easy to 
verify by the lack of contact upon the left rein. 
How? Well, if the contact upon the left bar gives 
the fixed point at the atlas region, this fixed point 
is the center from which originates the action of the 
two muscles, rhomboideus and mastoido-humeralis, 
which by their contraction raise the left front leg 
and extend it forward. But, of course, if the shoul- 
der is weak, the horse is not willing to move this 
left shoulder or leg, and so refuses the contact, in 
order not to establish the fixed point from which 
the action starts. But if the difficulty is not in the 
shoulder, but in the arm from the humerus to the 
knee, by a little more steady flexion with my rein, 
I flex the arm upon the humerus. The head, being 
now more flexed, gives the fixed point to the rhom- 
boideus, but prevents the action of the mastoido- 
humeralis. The leg, therefore, raises, with the arm 
extended and the knee flexed. 

242 



MY OWN SYSTEM 

Or, again, suppose the derangement is located in 
the right trapezius, which gives to the raised front 
leg the time of the three movements of the forward 
stride. I keep a more persistent flexion to the right, 
in order that the muscles of the neck, by their ar- 
rangement and their connections with the trapezius, 
may force the trapezius to remain contracted for a 
longer time. So as the right fore leg lifts, flexes, and 
extends, the trapezius keeps it extended. Thus, the 
trapezius is especially exercised, and in the course 
of time becomes developed to the degree needed 
to give as long a stride on that side as on the 
other. 

Still another case. The stride of the left front leg 
is longer forward than that of the right, and con- 
sequently gains more ground than its mate. Natu- 
rally, then, the right hind foot, having less open 
space in front of it, cannot reach out so far as the 
foot on the other side. The strides are, therefore, 
unequal; and the horse is judged to be lame in the 
right hind leg. Yet it is not. The short stride of the 
right hind leg is only the effect. The cause of the 
trouble lies either in the fore leg, or in the shoulder, 
or in the muscles which operate the right fore leg. 
But the horse, being lame, balances itself with head 
and neck, so that it is impossible to locate the 
trouble. Paralyze this balance, and the horse, if 
not unequally conformed, will stride squarely. It 
merely had a bad habit. 

In a word, find the derangement, its location, its 

243 



THE SCIENTIFIC EQUITATION 

cause, by means of effects which appear only when 
the horse moves. Then treat the cause by means of 
the low airs, using these as gymnastic exercises, a 
method of physical culture. 



CHAPTER XXV 
THE JAMBETTES 

By means of the flexions of the neck and the lower 
jaw, by the pirouette, the reversed pirouette, and 
the movement backward, we have now suppled the 
different parts of the horse's body. We have not, 
however, yet suppled the limbs. And since these 
are the essential agents in locomotion, these also 
must be trained to execute their strides without 
stiffness, since this would cause constraint, lame- 
ness, and inequality. 

For this, we have the same means of controlling 
the horse as before — the right and left reins, the 
right and left legs of the rider, and his accuracy of 
seat. The hands holding the reins are in their regu- 
lar position when they are at the same height as 
the elbows. When they are lower than the elbows, 
the position is called "hands down," and produces 
a special effect. Hands higher than the elbows is 
"hands up," and this also has a special effect. 
These three effects of the hands are communicated 
to the lower jaw, to the head, to the neck, and to 
the fore hand, and act by the play of the various 
articulations of these members. 

It is evident, however, that these different effects 
of the hands are not understood by the horse; so 
that it is only by means of exercises to supple the 

245 



THE SCIENTIFIC EQUITATION 

different joints and to make it understand the 
meaning of these effects of hand, that we at length 
obtain that complete command over the fore legs 
which is the sine qua non of controlled locomotion. 

The same principles apply also to the horse's hind 
legs. The rider's legs produce three different effects 
according to their position on the horse's flanks. 
Four inches behind the girths, pressure of the rid- 
er's legs stimulates the horse's rear limbs to a move- 
ment of impulsion forward. Near the girths, this 
pressure maintains this action of the horse's hind 
legs, equally foru^ard, with the same elevation, and 
at the same speed. But the rider's legs pressed 
three inches back of the first position will draw the 
horse's hind legs forward under its body, and result 
in a position which brings the forward impulse to 
a stop, or even produces motion backward. Only 
by exercises suppling the hind legs do we make the 
horse understand the meaning of these effects. 

There is no other name for these exercises for 
suppling the limbs except the French name jam- 
hettes, from jambes, meaning legs. 

This exercise of the jamhettes is, however, highly 
useful for still another purpose. Since the horse's 
equilibrium is the sine qua non of the equitation 
savante, it is very necessary that the rider should be 
able, at will, to place the fore legs of his mount 
perpendicular to its body and to the ground. Con- 
trol of each several limb by means of reins and legs 
makes it possible for the cavalier to rectify immedi- 

246 



THE JAMBETTES 

ately a wrong position of any one. When, therefore, 
the horse has all its legs perpendicular to the ground 
and parallel to one another, there exists the state of 
equilibrium with correct location of the center of 
gravity. The rider's seat is accurate, so that a trans- 
fer of his weight, forward, to the right, to the left, or 
backward, impels the horse in one of these directions. 

The exercises commence with the horse standing 
still. The front legs are given two kinds oi jambette, 
the first of which involves the flexion of the scapulo- 
humeralis and the radio-humeralis. 

A great many trainers give this exercise on foot. 
The right rein, preferably at first the snafile, is held 
in the right hand. The trainer, holding the whip in 
his left hand, touches very gently the horse's right 
leg, repeating very gentle strokes until the animal 
lifts its right fore leg. This action, when secured, is 
immediately rewarded by the caress. 

The process is now continued until the leg is held 
in position, foot off the ground, knee forward, lower 
leg down. Very soon, the mere presence of the whip 
accompanied by a partial flexion with the right 
rein, will be sufficient to maintain the leg flexed in 
the air. Then the whip is progressively suppressed, 
and the jambette asked by a partial flexion by means 
of the right rein. At this point, everything is re- 
versed, and the jambette of the left fore leg taught 
in the same way. The great difficulty is to discover 
just the spot on the horse's leg where the touch of 
the whip will best stimulate the movement. This 

247 



THE SCIENTIFIC EQUITATION 

cannot be told in advance. Each horse has its 
pecuHar sensibihty, which must be discovered by 
experiment. 

When the jambeUe both to the right and to the 
left is obtained by means of the snaffle, it is asked 
in the same way by the bit. When everything is 
thoroughly mastered with the trainer on foot, the 
latter mounts, and repeats the exercise by partial 
flexions of the neck, without using the whip. If, 
however, the horse does not understand when first 
mounted, it can be helped out by touches of the 
whip on shoulder or leg. But the whip should be 
eliminated as soon as possible. 

Another way of obtaining the same jamhette is to 
begin mounted. It is evident that, with the horse 
standing, a partial flexion of the neck to the right 
will shift on to the left fore leg the weight formerly 
carried by the right fore leg. This, therefore, being 
unloaded, tends to be raised from the ground. If, 
now, the trainer, at the first sign of this lifting, 
rewards the horse with caresses, the latter will very 
soon comprehend what is wanted; and, at the par- 
tial flexion of the neck, will hold up the right fore 
leg. (Figure 27.) The same means reversed operates 
to secure the elevation of the left fore leg. 

During this practice on the jambettes, the rider's 
legs maintain the horse standing and straight, and 
prevent movement backwards. Here, then, are the 
principles which obtain the flexion at the scapulo- 
humeralis articulation. 

248 




Figure 27. jambette: flexion of the 

RIGHT FORE LEG 




Figure 28. jambette: extension of the right 

FORE leg 




Figure 29. jambette: flexion of the right 

HIND LEG 



THE JAMBETTES 

When this form of the exercise is well understood, 
the trainer proceeds to the second form, in which 
the entire fore leg is extended forward. 

For this, the rider's hand, in calling for the par- 
tial flexion of the neck, is first carried at the regular 
position, or, if necessary, a little lower. This posi- 
tion of the hand gives the fixed point at the atlas 
region, and thus acts directly on the rhomhoideus 
muscle, which by its contraction raises the fore leg, 
and on the trapezius which holds the fore leg raised 
and flexed. In the meantime, the low position of the 
hand, as the flexion is asked, inhibits the action of 
the mastoido-humeralis. If now the hand is raised 
progressively from its low position, the tension 
from the fixed point at the atlas region will be com- 
municated to the mastoido-humeralis, which will 
enter into action, extend the entire fore leg forward, 
and hold it there so long as the fixed point remains 
at the atlas region. This exercise is, then, the sec- 
ond form of the jambette. (Figure 28.) 

These jamhettes will teach the horse to raise its 
fore legs and to extend them at the effect produced 
by the hands of the rider, both in motion and stand- 
ing still. By this means the fore legs are so placed 
as to receive and support their proper portion of 
the entire load. The partial flexions used to obtain 
a single jambette to the right or left are now re- 
placed by a direct flexion of the lower jaw and neck, 
which gives the a\terna.te jambettes of the two limbs. 
By the two positions of the hands, low for the flex- 

249 



THE SCIENTIFIC EQUITATION 

ion of the scapulo-humeralis articulation, high for 
the extension of the lower leg, these movements are 
made to occur alternately, both with the horse 
standing and in motion. 

There are, then, three effects of the hand holding 
the reins. The first prevents movement forward. 
The second directs the body when in motion. The 
third raises and sustains the front hand either stand- 
ing or moving. 

The jambettes of the hind legs are obtained by the 
effects of the rider's legs, and involve nothing more 
than a flexion of a limb sustained for a short time. 
As soon as the effect has ceased, the horse's leg 
returns to the ground for the next stride. (Figure 
29.) 

The value of the jambettes of the hind legs is that 
they enable the rider to set the limbs at right angles 
to the ground and parallel to each other when the 
horse is standing; or when the horse is in motion, 
they enable the rider to secure an equal impulse 
from both hind legs. 

For it is obvious that it is not by the lifted limb 
that the horse sends its body forward, but by the 
other which is on the ground. For example, the left 
hind foot cannot be lifted, unless the right hind foot 
is in contact with the ground, in order that the 
right leg may bear the load which the left has been 
supporting. The right leg is, therefore, in position 
for the impulsion. But when this impulsion is 
finished, the left leg will have returned to the 

250 



THE JAMBETTES 

ground under the center of gravity and in position, 
in its turn, to act as support for the load and to de- 
liver the forward thrust during the brief interval 
when the right leg is in the air. For this reason, it 
is essential that each hind leg, after the jamhette, 
shall return to the ground, either at the perpendicu- 
lar or forward of it, never behind. 

To obtain the jambette of the right hind leg with 
the horse standing, the rider, by the effect of his 
left leg, fixes the horse's left hind leg upon the 
ground, and with his right, asks the lifting of the 
right hind leg. The rider's desire will not at first 
be understood by the horse. But with repetitions 
and caresses, the leg soon comes to be held in the 
air. Then the jambette of the other leg is taught 
with everything reversed. 

When the jambettes of all four legs are thoroughly 
learned, it then depends simply upon the equestrian 
tact, the skill in fingering, and the accuracy of seat 
of the rider, to obtain any desired movement or 
gait; for the rider now has mastership over his 
horse's legs, which are its only means of locomotion. 



CHAPTER XXVI 
THE SPANISH WALK 

In the Spanish walk, the horse extends alternately 
its front legs forward to their full length, holds them 
extended for a brief time, and then steps forward. 
Why this gait is called "Spanish" is a mystery. 
Possibly it is because the Spanish jennet has com- 
monly an exaggerated action forward, though this 
is never so marked as in the Spanish walk. The air 
is also sometimes called the "soldier's walk." 

The Spanish walk is the first movement of the 
so-called high school or circus equitation. It is also 
employed by the reasoned equitation for show pur- 
poses. Both schools have used it as a means of 
teaching the Spanish trot and various other move- 
ments of the high school. 

I, on the contrary, do not use the Spanish trot for 
show purposes, but only as a gymnastic exercise, to 
obtain the greatest muscular development of the 
animal, to supple various portions of the body, to 
equalize the strides of the four limbs, and to secure 
a uniformly energetic action throughout the entire 
mechanism. For me, therefore, the Spanish walk is 
not an end, but a means toward the suppleness and 
activity which results from practicing it. 

When the Spanish walk is asked from a horse that 
is so far educated as to preserve the state of equilib- 

252 



THE SPANISH WALK 

rlum during all movements, it becomes a most 
valuable exercise for instilling the idea of the di- 
agonal, as well as for making the horse energetic 
and active at the other gaits. But when the Span- 
ish walk is obtained by the aid of straps, whips, or 
other devices, and is used only for show, the gait is 
neither attractive to the onlooker nor beneficial to 
the horse. In these circumstances, though it ele- 
vates its front legs, it does not really advance upon 
them in this position. Instead, it draws its fore legs 
backward from their extended position and makes 
only a half-step forward. Meanwhile, the hind legs 
drag inactive; the head and neck take any sort of 
position; and the rider's hand, at each step, jerks 
up and down. The movement becomes a mere 
grimace, performed under the direction of a rider 
who knows no better. 

To teach the Spanish walk with the whip, the 
trainer places the horse with its right side close to a 
fence or wall, and taking the reins in his left hand, 
touches the horse's left fore leg with the whip. It is 
difficult to say at just what part of the limb the 
whip should first make its effect. Some horses will 
understand quicker if the pastern is touched. For 
others, the best point is the back tendon, the shin, 
the fore arm, or the knee. The rider must discover 
the spot by trial; but the place once found, the first 
touch of the whip should always be at that point. 

When the horse learns to raise its foot from the 
ground at the contact of the whip, the trainer 

253 



THE SCIENTIFIC EQUITATION 

should at first rest satisfied with this concession. 
After a time, the horse will hold its leg in the air. 
If the horse paws the ground, prevent the action, 
but do not punish. Pawing is merely a sign of im- 
patience, which, however, must not be allowed to 
become a habit. 

When the horse holds its two legs flexed equally 
well, it has to be taught to extend them forward. 
For this, the whip is brought to the point of the 
shoulder, and the trainer perseveres in light, re- 
peated touches until the bent limb is extended for- 
ward. As soon as this occurs, the whip is no longer 
applied at the first point, whatever that was, but 
the touch at the point of the shoulder obtains both 
the raising of the leg and its extension. 

The horse, having now reached the point where 
it holds its leg extended, the next matter is the for- 
ward step. For this, there are two devices. One of 
these, adopted by Fillis, is to pull the animal forward 
with the reins, and thus force it to set down its 
lifted foot at a point corresponding to the extension 
of the leg. This method is least satisfactory, be- 
cause of the long time it takes to make the horse 
comprehend what is wanted of it. 

The second method is easier and more immedi- 
ately successful. The trainer, always facing back- 
ward, reins in his left hand, whip in his right, and 
keeping the horse's right side against the barrier, 
chirps with his tongue, and touches the horse's left 
flank with the whip, until the horse goes forward at 

254 



THE SPANISH WALK 

an ordinary walk. Little by little, this walk is made 
slower and slower. At this stage, the two move- 
ments are asked together. The horse now moving 
at the slow walk, the whip touches the point of the 
shoulder precisely as when the animal was standing 
still. Thereupon, very shortly, the horse extends 
its left shoulder and executes the first step of the 
Spanish walk. If now the trainer knows how, by 
means of caresses and encouragements, to push this 
first success, the horse will soon learn to walk with 
extended fore legs. It is hardly necessary to add 
that, throughout all this work, the two sides are 
alternated and treated equally. 

After this work on foot has continued until the 
horse is thoroughly confirmed in the gait, the 
trainer mounts, and once more obtains the exten- 
sion by touching the horse's shoulder with the whip. 
When this much is done well and easily, standing, 
the rider by means of his legs, sends the horse for- 
ward at a slow walk. He then, with the whip, 
touches the shoulder next the wall shortly before 
the leg on that side has begun to lift. 

When the animal has learned to extend one leg 
in proper cadence, the trainer reverses sides, and 
trains the other leg in the same manner. 

The movement being executed by either leg 
alone, the next step is to combine the two. Some 
trainers, for this, use two whips, one on each side. 
Others have an assistant mount, while they, on 
foot, as the assistant sends the horse forward with 

255 



THE SCIENTIFIC EQUITATION 

legs or spurs, touch the shoulders with the whip in 
proper sequence. Thus the rider raises first one 
hand and then the other to secure the extension of 
the corresponding leg, and the trainer on foot sup- 
plements this effect by touches of the whip. In this 
manner, any quadruped can be taught the Spanish 
walk — elephant, cow, donkey. A great many such 
creatures have, in fact, been exhibited. But, as 
Fillis says, a horse doing the Spanish walk is only 
mechanized to execute grimaces with its front legs 
while the hind legs drag on the ground. All the 
work has been directed at the front legs to the com- 
plete neglect of the hind hand. ("Why-Not" and 
"Pierrot" at the Spanish walk, Figures 30 and 31.) 
Masters of the scientific equitation object to the 
foregoing method of obtaining the Spanish walk. 
Their principles admit teaching this gait only when 
the horse is mounted, and without any use of the 
whip. Unfortunately, grand masters of equitation 
are not born grand masters; and there is not one of 
us who, at the beginning of our careers, has not 
spent years over the Spanish walk, on foot, with 
whip, assistant, and the rest. After long and assid- 
uous labor, we find it simple enough to obtain the 
air mounted, without preparatory work on foot. 
Of course it is simple for us now. But it was not so 
simple fifty years ago; and we were proud enough 
of the first horse that we put through the Spanish 
walk. I say this in order to encourage the young. 
When they have had the experience of grand mas- 

256 




Figure 30. Spanish walk: left diagonal 




Figure 31. Spanish walk: right diagonal 



THE SPANISH WALK 

ters, they also will obtain the step mounted and 
without aid. 

I have now arrived at the point which I had in 
view, when, in discussing such movements as gal- 
lop, change of direction, shoulder-in, and the like, 
I disputed the ideas of Baucher and Fillis as to the 
effects which should be applied. The reader will 
find that what now follows will be clearer if he will 
refer back to the portions of the book where these 
topics were earlier discUvSsed. 

Baucher and Fillis teach the Spanish walk only 
when mounted, just as I do. Why, then, have these 
grand masters fallen into the error of applying cer- 
tain principles to certain movements, and yet dis- 
allowing these same principles in similar cases? 

I quote, by way of example, Baucher's theory of 
the Spanish walk, the italics mine. To the portion 
in italics, I call the reader's special attention. 

"One understands by Spanish walk the action of 
a horse which, in walking, gives all the extension 
possible to each of its front legs alternately. ... In 
order to obtain this movement, it is first necessary 
to force the horse to sustain one of its legs in the air. 
One will arrive at this promptly by flexing the head 
of the horse, for example, to the right with the rein of 
the snaffle or the bridle. That position taken, one will 
carry the hand holding the bridle to the left, while at the 
same time sustaining the horse strongly by means of 
his own legs. Nevertheless, the left [leg] will be applied 
to the flank with more energy, to make opposition to 

257 



THE SCIENTIFIC EQUITATION 

the hand. Little hy little, the weight of the horse's right 
leg will he carried upon the left, and the first [the right] 
leg will quit the ground ^ 

FilHs teaches exactly the same principles and the 
same means. My procedure also is precisely like 
that of the two grand masters. For although there 
is always the difference that they ask the movement 
simply as a movement, while I emplo)^ it only as a 
gymnastic exercise and a means to something else, 
yet our methods of obtaining the action are the 
same. 

But the point I am aiming at is to show that 
Baucher and Fillis teach that the partial flexion of 
the head to the right unloads the right front leg, 
and, of course, loads the left. But why is the head 
carried to the right to unload the right leg, which 
is the pivot and support in such different movements 
as shoulder-in, change of direction, and others; and 
why is the head carried to the left to load the right 
shoulder in order to obtain the gallop on the right 
lead? When we ask the energetic action of one of 
our own members, so far as we can, we unload it. 
To kick the ball with the right foot, we put all the 
weight of the body on the left. Then with the 
right — *' there she goes " ! But to load a limb from 
which we ask energetic action, is a curious kind of 
logic or science. 

Every experienced riding-master will keep re- 
minding his students that there is a point in the 
educational progress of every horse, where the ani- 

258 



THE SPANISH WALK 

mal tends to stay behind, rather than upon, the 
hand. I have spent some years in studying this 
anomaly. Baucher and Fillis also recognize this 
difficulty; and recommend suspending further prog- 
ress and beginning over again to find the contact 
upon the hand by energetic impulsion at a fast trot 
or gallop. I too have practiced this method; but I 
find that after the impulsion at the trot my horse is 
excited and willful. 

I reason the matter out thus. When the horse, at 
the Spanish walk, raises, extends, and sustains, 
alternately, the two front legs, it must be evident 
that this is done by the contraction of the two great 
muscles of the neck, the rhomboideus and the mas- 
toido-humeralis, which have their fixed point in the 
atlas region. Now, this gait, obviously, cannot be 
other than the product of the diagonal effect. If, 
then, the diagonal effect produces the Spanish walk, 
and if the Spanish walk cannot be obtained without 
the fixed point at the atlas region, the contact of 
the bit must be the consequence of the fixed point, 
and therefore a result of the Spanish walk. Ergo, if 
my horse loses the contact with the bit, the Spanish 
walk will restore it again. This means, deduced 
from theory, I have found never to fail in practice. 

When, therefore, a horse, in the progress of its 
training, begins to stay behind the hand, the best 
remedy is the Spanish walk. Thus, no time is lost; 
and the horse, always under the direction of the 
diagonal effect, is neither excited nor nervous. 

259 



THE SCIENTIFIC EQUITATION 

Some ten years ago E. L. Anderson, author of 
Moder?i Horsemajiship, wrote me, complaining that 
the Spanish walk and trot disturbs the fineness of a 
horse's mouth, so necessary for the piaffer and the 
passage. I replied that this is certainly the fact. In 
the passage and the piaffer, the exertion being less 
than in the Spanish walk and trot, the rhomboideus 
acts more strongly than the mastoido-humeralis. In 
the Spanish walk and trot, which involve greater 
exertion, the conditions are reversed, and the mas- 
toido-humeralis acts the more strongly. But it is 
the action of the first of these muscles, the rhom- 
boideus, that gives the more sensitive contact 
against the hand. 



CHAPTER XXVII 
THE SPANISH AND THE FLYING TROT 

The Spanish trot is one of the principal low airs of 
the haut ecole when exhibited in the circus. For the 
scientific equitation, it is a valuable gymnastic ex- 
ercise for developing the horse's muscular energy, 
upon which it makes very great demands. 

It is, like the piaffer and the passage, the mani- 
festation of perfect diagonal action. It differs, how- 
ever, from the piafTer and the passage, in that, in 
these two airs of manege, the knees are flexed, 
while, in the Spanish trot, as in the Spanish walk, 
the fore legs are fully extended, held in this position 
for an instant of inactivity, and then made to gain 
ground forward. The impulse for each step is given 
by the diagonal hind leg, which rises at the same 
time with the fore leg on the other side, and is held 
inactive for the same period. In other words, di- 
agonal bipeds are raised, hang for a moment in the 
air with the fore leg extended, and then are set 
down together a step in advance. (Figures 32, 33.) 

All the masters of the scientific epuitation have 
agreed that the Spanish trot is next in sequence to 
the Spanish walk. Baucher and Fillis teach the 
progression: Spanish walk, Spanish trot, passage, 
piaffer. I, on the other hand, almost reverse this 

261 



THE SCIENTIFIC EQUITATION 

order, and take first the plaffer, than the passage, 
finally the Spanish walk and trot. 

My reasons for this unusual procedure are these. 
Neither the Spanish walk nor trot can be obtained 
until after the horse has been completely estab- 
lished in its collection, assemblage, and equilibrium, 
so that all the progressive movements which pre- 
cede the Spanish walk are executed without dis- 
turbing the state. But the highest possible mani- 
festation of the state of assemblage is the piaffer. 
No assemblage, no piaffer, is almost an equestrian 
proverb. When, therefore, I have the piaffer, I have 
also the proof of the maximum of assemblage. The 
center of gravity is fixed exactly below my own 
vertebral column, while the equilibrium is so perfect 
that shifting my weight to my right or my left 
ischium raises alternately the diagonal bipeds of 
the horse, and passing the load slightly forward 
causes the horse, without losing cadence or equilib- 
rium, slightly to gain ground forward, and thus 
change to the passage. 

In order to obtain the piaffer, I place the horse's 
head perpendicular to the ground, but with its neck 
not quite so high as for the ordinary trot. For if 
the head and neck are high, the two muscles of the 
neck, rhomboideus and mastoido-humeralis, by their 
fixed point at the atlas region, are equally in con- 
tact with my hand. This is precisely what I do not 
want. The rhomboideus will raise shoulder, scapula, 
and leg ; but the mastoido-humeralis will extend the 

262 




Figure 32. Spanish tkot: right diagonal 




Figure 33. Spanish trot : left diagonal 



THE SPANISH AND THE FLYING TROT 

leg forward. Therefore it follows that I want for 
the piaffer all the rhomhoideus possible, but not too 
much of the mastoido-humeralis. In order for the 
foot in the piaffer to return to the same spot from 
which it was lifted, the horse must lift its fore leg 
forward, but with flexed knee. Too much action of 
the mastoido-humeralis will extend the leg so far 
that I cannot call back the foot to the proper spot 
and still preserve the speed and cadence of the trot. 

When I have secured the piaffer, I add the com- 
plication of a very slow forward progress, and have 
the passage. Then, having the passage, I give a 
little more impulsion forward, by lifting my coccyx 
out of the saddle, but not very far or too high, and 
by shifting the center of gravity a little more for- 
ward than for the passage. My horse, thereupon, 
lifts its head a little higher and finds contact with 
the bit. The two muscles concerned have now, to 
an equal degree, their fixed points in the atlas re- 
gion. The rhomhoideus, continuing to act as before, 
raises the leg. But the mastoido-humeralis, acting 
more strongly, extends the leg forward, and I have 
the Spanish trot. I still have the assemblage, but 
under different conditions. 

The teachings of the grand masters for these 
movements are very different from my own. They, 
as I have explained, begin with the Spanish walk. 
The horse's head and neck are up. The point of 
contact is established. The two neck muscles act 
together. The leg is raised and extended, stiff 

263 



THE SCIENTIFIC EQUITATION 

throughout its length. The spurs are appHed, and 
push the horse forward upon the front leg, which 
thereupon returns to the ground, and the first step 
is taken. The second step follows, secured from the 
other diagonal biped by the same means, and the 
walk continues. When the Spanish walk is well 
understood and properly performed, a stronger im- 
pulsion of the hind legs by the spurs precipitates 
this into the Spanish trot. 

The method answers very well thus far. But 
when, after this training, the rider asks the pas- 
sage, the horse, as before, extends its front legs, but 
the equilibrium is not adequate to the movement, 
and quarrels and fights begin between the trainer 
and the horse. When, at the end of the.se fights, the 
passage is obtained, they still have to be gone 
through with once more to obtain the piaffer. It all 
comes about because the masters keep diminishing 
the extension by diminishing the impulsion. I, on 
the contrary, beginning the series of movements at 
the other end, keep increasing the impulsion, al- 
ways by and in the state of equilibrium. 

The Spanish trot needs good conformation and 
great energy on the part of the horse; and on the 
part of the rider, a great precision of effects, if the 
air is to be taught according to the principles of 
the reasoned equitation. If the horse preserves 
the condition of equilibrium, the movement is very 
brilliant and graceful. The animal has an action 
forward and high, yet without manifesting too 

264 



THE SPANISH AND THE FLYING TROT 

severe exertion. The suppleness of the well-ca- 
denced and regular movements is very apparent, 
and the horse behaves as if it liked the action. But 
when the equilibrium is absent, then the exertion 
is very evident. The entire body is stiff. The gait 
is wearying to the animal, so that it must be sent 
against the bit by the attack of the spurs. These, 
in turn, drive it forward so violently that the bit 
has to act with strong effect, in order to raise the 
front legs and prevent the action from being for- 
ward instead of high. The proficient esquire does 
not regard this last form of the Spanish trot the 
perfection of the air. But the beginner is, of course, 
quite satisfied with it, until after he has trained 
three horses. Only after he is sure of obtaining the 
Spanish trot at all, does he begin to see that there 
is also quality in the work and to try to secure that. 

There are also other methods of obtaining the 
Spanish trot. One of these is based on the system 
for the Spanish walk in which the trainer on foot 
touches the horse's shoulders alternately with the 
whip. The walk being learned by this means, the 
trainer accelerates the movement, until with prac- 
tice the horse breaks into a gait which has the ca- 
dence and height of the Spanish trot. But since 
the whip acts on the front hand only, although the 
fore legs lift high enough, the hind legs drag upon 
the ground with neither action nor elevation. 

Another method is still less scientific. Straps are 
attached to the pasterns of the front legs. Each of 

265 



THE SCIENTIFIC EQUITATION 

these straps is held by a man, who stands some six 
feet in front of the horse and facing it. Another 
man, holding reins and whip, touches one shoulder 
with the whip, while the man who holds the strap 
pulls the corresponding foot off the ground and 
holds the leg extended so long as the whip takes 
effect. Then the sides are reversed. As soon as the 
horse raises and extends its fore legs successively, 
a fourth man is added. This latter from behind, by 
means of a long whip applied to the hind legs, urges 
the horse forward, while the two men in front alter- 
nately pull the fore legs by the straps. 

Horses trained by either of these two methods 
are stupid, stiff, inactive, made into machines. 
They have the appearance of slaves, acting against 
their will. These systems of training belong, of 
course, solely to the circus. Neither of them is 
recognized by the scientific equitation. 

The Spanish trot, done slowly and in cadence, is 
considered the most brilliant of the horse's gaits. 
The action is in complete accord with all the natural 
powers of the animal; and though the height at- 
tained is greater than in the ordinary trot, it is 
nevertheless entirely possible to the mechanism 
involved. The air, therefore, can most properly be 
used as a gymnastic exercise for developing energy 
and action; and is of special benefit to such horses 
as are lacking in action, indolent, or given to trip- 
ping and stumbling. All this, however, is on the 
condition that the work with the Spanish trot is so 

266 



THE SPANISH AND THE FLYING TROT 

moderate and so progressive that the horse has time 
to develop the muscular strength needed to execute 
the air without overmuch effort. 

THE FLYING TROT 

The flying trot has the same cadence and high 
step as the Spanish trot, but the movement forward 
is at greater speed. Since, then, the action is both 
high and rapid, it demands great strength and en- 
ergy on the part of the horse. Some hackneys, 
however, take naturally the flying trot when mod- 
erately supported by the contact of the bits. 

The air cannot be executed on every kind of 
ground. If the track is too soft, the hind legs fail to 
give the needed drive. If too hard, the blow of the 
front feet on the ground will be painful, and the 
horse will be discouraged. 

The movement is obtained by gradually acceler- 
ating the Spanish trot, but without keeping the 
horse too long at the exercise. Evidently, since this 
added speed does not alter the elevation of the 
diagonal bipeds, the gait demands from the esquire 
or master the greatest accuracy of seat and effects. 
For the horse, at the flying trot, gets high off the 
ground; and if the seat of the rider and his effects 
are not exactly correct and accurate, the horse is 
disturbed in its cadence and the elevation of the 
action is lost. 

Personally, I should not care for the Spanish trot 
if it were not the means of obtaining the flying trot, 

267 



THE SCIENTIFIC EQUITATION 

which is extraordinarily enjoyable and exhilarat- 
ing — though, of course, it is to be indulged in only 
occasionally when the ground permits. I recom- 
mend to the beginner to train several horses at the 
Spanish trot before attempting the more difficult 
gait; and furthermore, to make sure that his ani- 
mal is really able, after suitable practice, to execute 
the movement without injury or discouragement. 



CHAPTER XXVIII 
THE PIAFFER 

Another of the low airs is the piaffer, in which the 
horse trots, with perfect motion of its diagonal 
bipeds alternately, yet without progress in any 
direction. The piaffer is, then, one stage beyond 
the passage, since it presupposes an even more 
perfect state of equilibrium and a still further devel- 
opment of the horse's muscular strength. All mas- 
ters regard the piaffer as the foundation, the sine 
qua non, of the whole scientific equitation. 

There are, however, two sorts of piaffer, the slow 
and the quick. There is also still another kind, that 
exhibited by a horse which, through excitement, 
excess of energy, or nervous temperament, cannot 
stand still. If, then, the rider does not permit the 
animal to go forward, it prances impatiently on the 
same spot. Such a mount is annoying and even 
dangerous to an inexperienced horseman; so that 
the fault needs to be corrected by a moderate and 
progressive training, in which the chief difficulty is 
to stop the creature and to keep it still. 

Both the quick and the slow piafTers are recog- 
nized by the scientific equitation. They are, indeed, 
closely related. The quick piaffer, as its name sug- 
gests, has the more rapid tempo. It is also com- 

269 



THE SCIENTIFIC EQUITATION 

monly the more easily obtained, since it needs less 
energy on the part of the horse and less tact on the 
part of the rider. Notice that, although I say less 
tact, the tact must nevertheless be of a high order. 

The slow piaffer is rarely seen. Baucher, Fillis, 
and myself have obtained it from a limited number 
of horses, each of which has left a name in the 
countries where it has been shown. Even the quick 
piaffer, though attained by a greater number of 
animals, is no ordinary feat of horsemanship. 

It would take volumes to describe and explain 
the machines, straps, pillars, and other instruments, 
more or less complicated, which have been em- 
ployed to obtain an action so agreeable, so elegant, 
and so difficult as the quick piaffer, and to set forth 
the theories of able masters with regard to it. But 
to obtain the slow piaffer, what study is needed, 
what labor without end ! It is the dream which few, 
very few, masters have realized. 

From Xenophon to Pluvinel, horsemen have 
sought the rassemble or assemblage. In Pluvinel's 
time the pillars were used to obtain this state ; and 
as master has succeeded master, some horses have 
come to the piaffer by this and other mechanical 
means. Even to-day the pillars are still employed 
in the military riding-schools of the nations of the 
world, always for the same reason and to the same 
effect. Results are uncertain or negative. Brilliant 
as the outcome may sometimes be, all the evidence 
goes to show that they are seldom enough anything 

270 



THE PIAFFER 

of the sort. The scientific equitation cannot con- 
sider, teach, or admit any such devices. 

The quick piaffer has the cadence of the trot, 
but the movements are rapid, and the action not 
high. To obtain this type of piaffer, the horse is 
first brought to the most complete possible state of 
equihbrium and kept in this condition at the ma- 
nege walk. The rider then makes repeated attacks 
with the spurs, first with one, then with the other, 
in diagonal, at a tempo faster than for the passage 
and comparable to that of quarter-notes in music. 
At each attack the spur touches the flank near the 
girth, while the leg still maintains its pressure, and 
then moves away no more than the twelfth of an 
inch. 

In the meantime, the rider, by the accuracy of 
his seat, helped by his fingering on the bridle, re- 
ceives the excess of action given by the spurs, and 
holds the center of this action at the center of grav- 
ity. He should, thereupon, feel the hind limbs rise 
and fall alternately, a little in front of the perpendic- 
ular. If the hind legs are too far in front of the 
perpendicular, the horse cannot continue to move, 
except by contracting the two vasti muscles and 
rearing high. If when the horse rears, the rider in- 
stantly pushes it forward by leaning sharply to the 
front, the horse will leap. But if the rider does not 
immediately check the rearing, the horse will fall 
backward at once or paw the air with its front feet 
and then perhaps fall. But so long as the rider feels 

271 



THE SCIENTIFIC EQUITATION 

by way of his seat the action of the hind legs, every- 
thing is right for a beginning. One must be careful 
at this stage not to keep the horse too long at the 
exercise. Five or six repetitions are sufficient. 

As for the fingering of the hand on the reins, this 
has to meet three conditions. The fingers should 
close on the reins in the same tempo with the di- 
agonal efTect of the legs, and should be proportioned 
to the cadence and strength of these. The fingering 
must allow the center of gravity, so to say, to filter 
imperceptibly to the front side of the medial plane, 
and not under any condition let it get behind this 
position. A fortiori the fingering must maintain 
always the assemblage, collection, and equilibrium. 

As soon, therefore, as any derangement of these 
conditions appears, no matter how slight, all di- 
agonal effect must stop instantly, and the horse be 
sent forward with decision and energy. After a few 
forward steps, the horse is once more brought to a 
stand, its calmness reestablished, the equilibrium 
once more obtained, and the piafTer again asked. 
As a general principle, every execution of the piaffer, 
no matter what the stage of progress, should be fol- 
lowed by at least one or two steps forward. Other- 
wise, the horse would get into the way of stopping 
with its legs inside the perpendicular, and this, with 
time and habit, would create the acculer. 

When the piaffer is first obtained, no one can 
prophesy how it will develop. It nearly always be- 
gins as the quick form; and with this, at first, the 

272 




Figure 34. piaffer: right diagonal 




Figure T,^. piaffer : left diagonal 



THE PIAFFER 

trainer should be satisfied. He should then proceed, 
by calmness, moderation, and equestrian tact, to 
regulate and to establish the rhythm and cadence of 
each diagonal stride, their height and tempo. With 
time and moderation, the horse, more or less excited 
at the beginning, will calm itself, will understand 
better the cadence demanded by the esquire, and 
with the habit of calmness will respond to the tim- 
ing of the effects of hands and legs. Then, by di- 
minishing little by little the rapidity of the step, the 
horse is finally brought to the slow piaffer, the only 
really perfect and scientific form. 

The slow piaffer is the poetry of action of the 
horse in motion and is admitted by all schools to 
be the crown of the scientific equitation. Baucher, 
Fillis, and I employ the quick piaffer only as a 
means of obtaining the slow, since we consider this 
to be the only difficult and desirable form. The two 
grand masters regard the slow piaffer as the abso- 
lute proof of the state of equilibrium in motion, and 
therefore as the most difficult of the low airs. I too 
accept the slow piaffer as the proof of equilibrium 
in motion, but I also employ it as a part of my sys- 
tem of physical culture, to develop the muscles 
of the horse's back, loins, and haunches. (Figures 

34»35-) 

Baucher and Fillis, as I have already explained, 
do not attempt the piaffer with their horses until 
the diagonal effect is well understood, as in the 
Spanish walk, Spanish trot, and passage. Baucher, 

273 



THE SCIENTIFIC EQUITATION 

at the beginning of the training, works his horses for 
a considerable time on foot, with the whip. All this 
greatly aids the animals in understanding the move- 
ments of the piaffer. Fillis works his horses on foot 
very much less than Baucher, but has already 
trained them in diagonal movements before he asks 
the piaffer. Both, for a horse to be taught the piaf- 
fer, select with the greatest care an animal that has, 
to start with, the required conformation, strength, 
and soundness, with the moral and physical qual- 
ities that give action and energy. And since the 
horse which has these qualities sustains the state of 
equilibrium a great deal better than does one of 
inferior grade, such an animal has really a value 
equivalent to the time and effort needed to secure 
the degree of education proved by the slow piaffer. 
I, on the other hand, do not trouble myself over the 
choice of a horse. The more inferior it is, the more 
faulty its conformation, the more interesting be- 
comes its education. The more difficult the work, 
the more the fun of doing it. 

Both Baucher and Fillis have had some violent 
fights with their horses. They put a young beginner 
in the saddle to hold the reins, while they, beside 
the horse on foot, direct its movements with small 
or long whips. I work very little on foot. I never, 
or rarely, use a whip. I do all the work myself; and 
J ver>' seldom, when mounted, have a quarrel with 
my horse or an act of defense from it. Six months 
after I begin training, the horse has already ceased 

274 



THE PIAFFER 

to be the caricature which I bought. I explain these 
points, not to dwell upon my own ideas, but to aid 
the reader in understanding the different proce- 
dures of the different grand masters which I shall 
now discuss. 

The difference between the quick piaffer and the 
slow is that in the quick piaffer the horse's legs, 
acting in diagonal, fall more quickly to the ground 
under the pull of gravity. But in any case, the two 
diagonal legs which support the body are acting 
only during the time during which the other two 
are in the air. Evidently, then, if two diagonal 
members remain longer upon the ground, the other 
two will have to stay longer in the air, and vice 
versa. 

Now the question is, which requires the greater 
effort on the part of the horse, to keep its body 
balanced for the longer time on two feet, or to hold 
two legs off the ground and flexed? 

But the shorter the time the feet remain in the 
air, the more rapid is the action, as in the quick 
piaffer. On the other hand, the slower the action, 
the greater the loss of the original upward impulse. 
The more powerful, therefore, must be the muscu- 
lar contraction and the more accurate the equilib- 
rium. Evidently, then, the horse needs more energy 
for the slow piaffer than for the quick ; and more for 
the quick piaffer than for the passage, trot, or gal- 
lop, since in these last the animal ,is helped by its 
own forward motion. 

275 



THE SCIENTIFIC EQUITATION 

Baucher and Fillis put their horses at the passage, 
and then, by altering the tempo of their attacks in 
diagonal, they slackened still further the already slow- 
speed of that air. After a time, the horse would con- 
tinue the cadence of the passage, but without ad- 
vancing. Then they had the slow piaffer. Given 
the qualities of their horses, this was a rational 
method. But even so, there always came a time of 
defenses, fights, revolts. If I employed this method 
with the kind of horses that I train, I should kill the 
animals before they developed the strength of mus- 
cle needed for the slow piaffer! 

I hold that it is no special obstacle to the piaffer 
if the horse's neck and legs are a little stiff, pro- 
vided always that they are strong enough to serve 
as supports, two at a time. Where, then, is the great 
center of development of the forces which keep the 
whole inert weight balanced on two legs, keep the 
balance, and return two feet to the ground and 
raise the other two, without advancing or backing? 
I answer, at the coupling, the sacrum, the ilium, 
the pelvis, for the rear half of the body; and at the 
thorax for the front half. 

Twenty years ago, E. L. Anderson, in his Modern 
Horsemanship, wrote: "Master H. L. de Bussigny 
professes that all the resistance of the horse is lo- 
cated in the posterior half of the horse; he is in 
contradiction with all the other masters, who find 
the center of resistance in the neck." I regard the 
iliac region, from the last lumbar vertebra to the 

276 



THE PIAFFER 

end of the sacrum, as the point of union of the fore 
hand with the hind hand. Here is the junction of 
these two parts, where they are united by the mus- 
cles. If there were not this union, if the voHtional 
impulse came as far as the last dorsal vertebra and 
there stopped, quadrupedal locomotion would be 
quite impossible. 

All this is assuming that the horse is free from 
any human interference. But if the horse's spine is 
carrying a load, we cannot neglect the influence of 
this weight upon the two parts of the body, which 
are, by instinct, a unit and under the same acts of 
will. Their point of union, in my opinion, is this 
centrifugal region where the forces are assembled. 
It is like the mechanical coupling which unites the 
locomotive to the loaded cars behind it. At this 
point all the pull of the engine is concentrated 
against the weight opposed to it. If the cars were 
not loaded, the coupling between the locomotive 
and the first car would not need to be so strong. 

If a horse, when running or jumping, is watched 
during a fall, it is easy to discover that the forward 
part of the body gives way first. This is because 
the hind legs do not come forward in time to act 
their part as supports. But the hind legs, of them- 
selves, have no power to come forward below the 
center of gravity. The failure is in the loins, the 
back, which have not pulled the legs forward in 
time to lend their support, and thus to prevent the 
fall of the whole body. 

277 



THE SCIENTIFIC EQUITATION 

Or note how an athlete does a somersault. He 
leaps into the air, and then, solely by the action of 
his loins, he turns his feet up and his head down, 
and then alights upon his feet. Or suppose a man 
is running and falls. If, as he fell, he could bring 
his loins into action sufficiently to bring his legs 
under him, the fall would not occur. 

I have dwelt long on this topic of strength of 
loins in the saddle horse, because it is my thorough- 
going conviction that the various schools of equita- 
tion have emphasized overmuch the correctness of 
movements of the horse's limbs, to the complete 
neglect of the muscular development of the coup- 
ling, a matter which, in fact, they do not even men- 
tion. It is to develop this part of the horse's body 
that I employ the two piaffers, and especially the 
slow one, just as soon as my mount has attained to 
a muscular strength sufficient to begin a movement 
needing so much power at the loins. 

I have asked and obtained the slow piaffer by 
the methods of Baucher and Fillis; but I have al- 
ways found that this procedure results in great 
exertion, great fatigue, and very often irritation and 
incipient stages of revolt. To obviate these draw- 
backs, I have developed a procedure which has 
never failed to secure the result at which I aim. 

I do not attempt the piaffer until my horse is at 
the state of perfect equilibrium during all the move- 
ments of the progression up to this stage, and is 
complete as a park hack. Then I commence the 

278 



THE PIAFFER 

slow piaffer. I prefer to begin this late in the au- 
tumn, so as to have a whole winter before me. 

First of all, I perfect the manege walk to the 
point where I can myself determine on which di- 
agonal biped the horse shall start. When I am 
complete master of either diagonal biped, I begin 
to carry my horse backward, with the same cadence 
and tempo. I execute six steps forward and six 
backward. Then I interpolate a slow trot, which 
I call the recreation trot, and begin again. I keep 
my horse always straight, and I take special pains 
to have the strides of the two diagonal bipeds sup- 
ple and precisely alike. I realize that my horse will 
need a great muscular development in order to gain 
in height what he loses in motion forward. There- 
fore, I use great moderation, and give a large 
amount of recreative exercise. 

After several days, if the work is well done, it 
becomes apparent that each diagonal biped is stay- 
ing in the air a slightly longer time than before. At 
this point, I need to hold on to myself, and to tem- 
per my impatience to begin the tempo of the trot. 
But I continue, I favor, I protect, I recompense, 
more and more and patiently. 

The time comes, always and quite soon, that the 
horse walks step by step, so slowly that each di- 
agonal biped, in cadence, stays in the air a longer 
or shorter time. When this habit is completely fixed, 
I stop the horse and attack him very gently so that 
he merely feels the pressure of my spurs. When the 

279 



THE SCIENTIFIC EQUITATION 

horse knows that I have the spurs ready at my dis- 
posal, I put him at the manege walk, at the slowest 
possible gait, step by step. Then I begin to activate 
the entire mechanism, but not by any quicker ac- 
tion of my legs or fingers. I keep the same tempo, 
with an even more accurately measured power of 
my effects, and I incline my body slightly forward, 
so as to shift the center of gravity and lighten the 
loins. At the slightest disorder, I stop everything, 
reestablish calm, and begin again. 

It is very seldom that I have to start over more 
than three times before I obtain one or two move- 
ments of the loins. For the rider who has not had 
the experience, it is a strange sensation that he now 
receives through the seat. As the horse flexes its 
haunches and hocks below its pelvis, one feels as if 
the horse were on the point of kicking, first with one 
leg and then with the other. It is really nothing of 
that sort. It is simply the first of the two indica- 
tions that the croup is lifting higher. If, after this 
first manifestation, you know how to recompense, 
to calm, and' to rest, it becomes easy to secure two 
or four or six. Do not accept an odd number of 
actions, because this will tend to make the horse 
unequal, with one side more indolent or backward 
than the other. 

The rest is easy, merely a question of time, pro- 
gression, and moderation, in order for the horse to 
develop the necessary strength. The slower the 
action, the more difficult and the more brilliant, so 

280 



THE PIAFFER 

long as the horse does not move either forward or 
backward. 

When the slow piaffer begins to be understood, 
I prepare myself, and at each repetition of very 
delicate attacks well cadenced, and in the tempo of 
each step, I lift my hand a little higher, make my 
fingering more pronounced and precise, and raise 
the four legs higher and higher, two by two in di- 
agonal. I caress all the body of the horse a great 
deal, speak to it in an amiable and encouraging 
voice, and make my horse like the lesson. 

Last of all, I complete the training by shifting 
my own weight from haunch to haunch, without 
apparent movement of the upper part of my body, 
or of my hand, arms, thighs, or legs. At first this 
shifting of my weight from side to side appears to 
have no effect. Well, then, I begin the slow piaffer 
by means of my hands and legs; but when the 
movement is under way, I cease the effect of hands 
and legs, and begin the balancing on my seat. I 
have to try several times; and then success is as- 
sured. 

After each exercise in the time of the piaffer, I 
carry my horse forward a few steps, bring him to 
rest, and either abandon him, or let him be free to 
stretch his spine and neck. 

In brief, then, calculate accurately your effects, 
develop your equestrian tact, keep in your mind 
the principles which I have always had before me, 
my deus ex machina. Labor improbus omnia vincit, 

281 



THE SCIENTIFIC EQUITATION 

and you will have won the ne pltis ultra of the sci- 
entific equitation, the slow piaffer. 

My own horse, "Why -Not," does the slow piaffer 
at the cadence of the walk, without advancing. 
But the taller a horse is, the more difficult is the 
slow piaffer for the horse to execute and for the 
rider to obtain. 

As for the pillars, by means of these a horse can 
be trained to any sort of trick, to kneel down, to 
extend the legs, to lie down, and the like. But since 
these tricks are not recognized by the reasoned 
equitation, there is no need to touch upon them. 
It is only to obtain the piaffer that the new school 
admits the use of the pillars, copying in this the 
principles of the old school. 

The horse is put in the pillars, and by means of 
the whip, is taught to raise and keep up one leg 
after the other, beginning with the fore limbs. By 
touching the chest with the whip, alternately on 
the right and left sides, the horse will very soon 
learn to raise his fore feet, by flexing his legs at the 
knees, first at the walk and then at the trot, as the 
whip is applied more rapidly. 

When this movement is obtained from the front 
legs, the trainer operates in the same way with the 
hind legs. 

This done, the problem is to get all four legs to 
act together in diagonal. Repeated touches of the 
whip upon the haunches, given in the cadence of 
the movement, tend to make the horse go forward. 

282 



THE PIAFFER 

But since cavesson and reins prevent this, the horse 
becomes more or less excited, and begins to move 
in diagonal, up and down on the same spot. At this 
point the trainer stops the horse, caresses him, and 
begins again. 

It must be evident that, by this method, it is not 
possible to obtain the slow piaffer at the beginning. 
The first result is always the quick form. This, how- 
ever, the trainer slows down by calmness and by 
spacing the touches of the whip farther and farther 
apart. Weights or bells may be attached at the 
pasterns to encourage the horse to carry his knees 
higher and higher. 

There has also been invented, I think by Han- 
hauser, a special harness for the purpose of obtain- 
ing the movement in diagonal. A heavily padded 
strap is fastened to each pastern, and each pair of 
straps in diagonal, is buckled to the two ends of 
a rope. These ropes, in their turn, pass through a 
pulley which is fastened to a strong surcingle so 
that it comes close to the body at the middle of the 
lower side of the chest. The ropes are rather tight, 
so that, when the horse lifts, for example, its right 
front foot, the pull comes against the left rear one. 
Since, in addition, the horse is fixed fast in the pil- 
lars, there is nothing it can do except to go up and 
down in diagonal on the same spot. But the piaffer 
of horses trained by such mechanical methods is 
never elegant, supple, or brilliant. It suggests the 
manequins of Mme. Tussaud. 

283 



CHAPTER XXIX 
THE PASSAGE 

Of all the low airs which a horse can execute, the 
passage is the most rhythmic, the most artistic, and 
the most scientific. It is not an artificial gait, but 
an entirely regular and natural movement. Let a 
horse of any conformation, trained to any kind of 
service, be out of the stable and free. He trots at 
the passage. His head is up, his neck well placed, 
his tail in the air. Hocks, haunches, knees, and 
shoulders flex on their centers of motion, high, with 
energy, cadence, and balance. The back and loins 
are supple, the nostrils are well opened, and the 
breathing is deep even to snorting. Every joint 
is loose. Every limb functions with suppleness, 
rhythm, elegance. The horse is like a hunting-dog 
bounding around his master as he holds a shot-gun. 
He is in the air as if he would fly. (Figures 36, 37.) 
But, alas, as soon as the harness is on, and the 
driver is on the box or the rider in the saddle, all 
this cadence, tempo, rhythm, elegance, departs. 
The horse becomes heavy, stupid, brutish, without 
energy, a slave without initiative, a submissive vic- 
tim when he understands what is wanted and a 
restive victim when he does not. To raise the har- 
nessed animal to the standard of its natural beauty 

284 




Figure 36. Passage : right diagonal 




Figure 37. passage: lei-t diagonal 



THE PASSAGE 

in locomotion, to transfer the natural gifts of sup- 
pleness and elegance from the horse free to the 
horse mounted, is the dream, the life dream, the 
object of life of the masters of the scientific equi- 
tation. And I ask the horsemen, the masters from 
Xenophon to our own epoch, if ever a rider, mounted 
on a horse at the passage, has forgotten the sensation 
of that motion! 

The passage is too often confounded with the 
Spanish trot, even by the generality of masters. 
Yet the difference is complete. More than nine 
tenths of the Spanish trot is done against resistance ; 
and the fore legs are forcibly extended straight 
forward at full length. But at the passage, only 
the fore arm extends forward, the limb being flexed 
at the knee; and the forward step is only a third the 
length of the stride in the Spanish trot. Although 
the Spanish trot may be very beautiful when well 
performed, it is never so graceful, elegant, and 
elastic as the passage, probably because the passage 
is more natural to the horse than the violent exer- 
tions of the Spanish trot. 

For the Spanish trot is an artificial air, which has 
been taught to thousands of horses, enslaved by 
straps, whips, severe bits, and continued repetition. 
Fillis says, with great truth, "Yet it is certain that 
the new school is in use everywhere. The man does 
not any more ride the horse to educate him. All 
the work is done on foot, with whips and straps, 
absolutely like the training of monkeys or goats. 

285 



THE SCIENTIFIC EQUITATION 

It is what the pubHc called with irony at Vienna, 
pudel dressierung, the training of poodle-dogs!" 

The passage cannot be taught by this system. 
It requires a progressive education, based on the 
principles of the scientific equitation. A great many 
persons are not able to obtain it for lack of the 
perfect equestrian tact which inspires in the horse 
the confidence, the energy, the excess of power 
needed to make all his bodily mechanism move 
with cadence and rhythm, and to preserve perfect 
diagonal action, without the slightest interference 
of hand, leg, or seat, since this would instantly de- 
stroy equilibrium, and with it the rhythm, cadence, 
and tempo. Certain horses, indeed, by their nat- 
urally high and energetic action, do tend of them- 
selves to execute the passage. But even these 
should be given the same preliminary training as 
the less energetic animals. Sometimes, also, the 
action of the fore legs is high and correct enough, 
while that of the hind legs is low and imperfect. 
But the passage cannot endure mediocrity of ex- 
ecution. That is painful to feel or to see. The air 
is possible only when the perfected state of equilib- 
rium can be kept by the horse during all the move- 
ments of the progression of the scientific equitation. 

The horse needs for the passage, after his com- 
plete education, soundness, developed muscles, the 
proportions of a perfect conformation, energy, a 
calm yet ardent nature. Most of all, it needs to be 
mounted by a master with the artistic tempera- 

286 



THE PASSAGE 

ment, who has already, in his youth, spoiled several 
horses, before being several times successful. One 
cannot hope to put a horse successfully at the pas- 
sage until after he has trained five or ten horses. 
For when a master first begins the passage, the 
great, the nearly insurmountable difficulty is to 
obtain the first two or three manifestations of the 
cadence. But it is absolutely impossible for these 
first two or three steps to be at all pronounced or 
decided. They are like the ripples in a teacup com- 
pared to the steady undulation of the sea. But if 
the master does not recognize at once this earli- 
est almost insensible ripple, and so continues to 
ask it of the horse, the horse becomes more and 
more confused. Neither understands what is being 
asked. 

These first signs of the passage are, then, I say, 
very nearly imperceptible. But if they are recog- 
nized and rewarded, they are stored in the horse's 
memory. And since these first steps are the most 
difficult to obtain, everything possible must be 
done to fix the lesson in the animal's mind. 

Both Fillis and I, at the first adumbrations of the 
passage, stop the horse, jump down, take off the 
curb chain and bridle, blanket the horse, give him 
some pieces of carrot, sugar, or apple, and dismiss 
him to the stable. 

At the next lesson, I bridle the horse myself, us- 
ing calmness and tact, and have him go through 
some movements in the state of perfect equilibrium, 

287 



THE SCIENTIFIC EQUITATION 

but avoid any sort of canter or gallop, since these 
are in lateral biped and will only confuse. Only 
after the passage is learned, are canter and gallop 
in order. 

When the horse executes these preparatory 
movements in the condition of equilibrium, bring it 
to a stand, after passing the second corner of the 
short side, if you work in a manege, so as to have 
the length of the long side before you. Here dis- 
pose your horse and yourself, calculating accurately 
and calmly just what you are about to ask, what 
effects you are to employ, and how. 

You are now ready. Your horse is ready. Send 
your horse forward, step by step, at the manege 
walk. When you have the cadence of this, begin 
your diagonal effects. At the slightest derangement, 
stop, calm your horse, reestablish the perfect order, 
begin again with the manege walk, and apply the 
diagonal effects. If you obtain two or three man- 
ifestations, two or three ripples of the approaching 
passage, stop by means of the ensemble, and caress, 
caress profusely, the neck, loins, and haunches. 

Pass the end of the manege and continue on the 
long side, where, with the horse once more straight, 
you have space in front of you in case of difficulty. 
Then again, equilibrium, and forward at the ma- 
nege walk. Again calculate well and take your time. 
Do not yourself become excited or too ambitious. If 
you do, the horse will feel and resent it. Then com- 
mence your diagonal effects. Again you obtain the 

288 



THE PASSAGE 

two, three, or four manifestations of the passage. 
Stop. Caress. Take off the bridle. Carrots. Stable. 

The next day the same work, at the same hand. 
Do not alter anything. Impress, engrave on the 
horse's memory, these first foreshadowings of the 
passage. 

During this early work on the passage, stay at 
the side of the manege and do not try the center. 
If you do, you will be sorry afterwards, for you will 
send your horse's haunches to the right or left, in- 
stead of having them straight. When the signs of 
the passage become more marked, before asking for 
the movement, attack the horse very lightly, with 
the "delicate touch of the spurs" of Gueriniere, or, 
as I call it, ''the honeyed attack." Do this always 
at the manege walk, and ask the cadence by the 
calves of the legs only. Obtain three or four steps. 
Then let go. Begin again. Repeat this, at the ut- 
most, no more than four to six times at each lesson. 

At this point, supposing that you have worked 
properly thus far, I must especially advise that you 
do not, under any conditions or circumstances, let 
the horse take the cadence of the passage at its own 
initiative. Let it do this only when you ask the ac- 
tion by your diagonal effects. Be very sure of this. 

When progress begins to be marked, the time has 
come for a change of hand at each success. Other- 
wise the diagonal biped that has been nearest the 
wall will develop more energy or more action. 
Nothing must be neglected that will make for that 

289 



THE SCIENTIFIC EQUITATION 

perfect equality of squareness, height, energy, gait, 
and stride, which is the sine qua non of the artistic 
passage. Do not, moreover, allow your mount to be 
behind the hand. Accept the passage only when the 
horse is in contact upon your hand. 

Let us now analyze our effects and their conse- 
quences. 

Baucher writes: 

"The passage is the diminutive of the piaffer. In 
this air, the horse raises its legs as in the trot; but 
he advances only imperceptibly and at tempo. 

"For this work, the talent of the cavalier con- 
sists, not in making continually an opposition with 
the bridle each time that the leg acts, but in so well 
concentrating all the forces at the center, as for the 
piaffer, that, with the reins loosened, the horse ad- 
vances only imperceptibly by an excess of action. 
It is easy to see that there is necessary a complete 
assemblage, in order that the horse may execute 
with regularity this brilliant and scientific air of 
equitation." 

I am, with some minor differences, of the same 
opinion as the grand master; but it must be con- 
fessed that it will be very difficult for the student to 
obtain the passage with only the data, principles, 
and lessons. Baucher is correct in saying that the 
reins are to be loose and that the opposition of the 
hand is not necessary, provided the horse is already 
at the air. But before the movement is obtained, 
the opposition of the hand is essential, since it is 

290 



THE PASSAGE 

by an excess of the effects of our legs that we not 
only keep the horse in equilibrium, but also gain in 
weight of action what we lose in forward progress. 
A locomotive needs a much greater initial force to 
start the train than to keep it running after it has 
reached full speed ; and in something the same way 
in the case of the horse, a second force has to be 
added to that which produces motion forward, in 
order to make the action higher and slower. But so 
far as this second force is located outside the total 
mechanism of the horse's body, it cannot arise ex- 
cept by the opposition of the hand, even though this 
is as light as can be made. If the horse, in a state of 
freedom, acts the air spontaneously, it is because 
the creature understands by its natural instinct how 
to equilibrize its forces. But this natural instinct 
becomes paralyzed just as soon as we interfere with 
our weight or by our lack of tact. 

Fillis is clearer and more explicit. He holds, and 
rightly, that the horse's education should be com- 
plete before the passage is attempted. This means 
that the horse can take and keep the state of assem- 
blage during the execution of every movement in 
the progression up to that point. The "in hand," 
the equilibrium, must be perfect, and retained 
without excitement or fatigue. The horse being 
then at the manege walk, the rider's legs close as 
near as possible to the girths. The horse is per- 
fectly calm. The left spur attacks; and immediately 
after it, the right. The timing of these attacks is 

291 



THE SCIENTIFIC EQUITATION 

that of the "one, two; one, two; lunge" in fencing. 
Or, since many riders do not fence, it is very nearly 
the tick of the second-hand of a watch. At the 
touch of the left spur, the horse, surprised, raises its 
left hind leg and moves its body toward the right. 
Then, at precisely the right instant, comes the right 
spur to prevent the haunches from swinging to the 
right, and also to lift the right leg. Then again the 
left spur with the reversed effect; and so alter- 
nately. After four such trials, whether successful or 
not, stop, calm your horse, and begin again. 

The master or the student must impress upon his 
mind exactly what he desires to obtain and the 
means by which he is to obtain it. If what has been 
written above has been studied and understood, it 
should be clear that the point is to utilize the an- 
imal's forces in such wise as to secure height at the 
expense of progress. Evidently, it will be by the op- 
position of the hand that the motion forward will be 
checked and converted into motion up. Thus the 
propulsive force generated by the attacks of the 
spurs, which tends to drive the horse forward, is re- 
ceived upon the hand. The fingers close upon the 
reins just at the instant of the forward push. The 
result is that the fore leg flexes with the knee up and 
forward, the foot down. Simultaneously with this, 
the opposite rear leg comes up, and the horse bal- 
ances upon a diagonal biped. 

Consider, for example, the first manifestation of 
the passage on the right lateral biped. We have, in 

292 



THE PASSAGE 

this case, the right front leg and the left hind leg 
operated by the right diagonal effect; that is to say, 
by the opposition of the right rein and the attack of 
the left spur. The right diagonal biped is now up. 
Then follows the opposition of the left rein and the 
attack of the right spur, which force the right diag- 
onal biped to return to the ground before the left 
diagonal biped can be raised. The left diagonal bi- 
ped now lifts by the same effects as the right and 
in the same cadence, and we have two steps of 
the passage. Again, right rein and left spur, and 
the left diagonal biped returns to the ground as the 
other lifts. Once more comes the left rein and the 
right spur, the bipeds reverse, and we have four 
steps of the passage. 

The essential means are, evidently, the attacks of 
the spurs. At the first touch, the horse is surprised. 
At the second, the surprise is increased. At the 
third, the animal becomes worried. At the fourth, 
he is very near to a revolt, because he does not un- 
derstand what his rider asks. If now the rider con- 
tinues the attacks, the horse will be driven into a 
complete revolt. The spurs will bleed him. He has 
no idea what it all means. This will be utter brutal- 
ity, without the slightest chance of success. 

Sometimes the animal, all at sea as to what is 
wanted of him, goes crazy. As Fillis expresses it, 
"He plays his all, and completely loses his head." 
In that condition, he may be dangerous, not only at 
the time, but for the future. One must, therefore, 

293 



THE SCIENTIFIC EQUITATION 

make ample preparation, take plenty of time, be al- 
ways moderate, calm, persevering, and patient. If 
in these four attacks you obtain any sort of small 
beginning of a leap from one diagonal biped to the 
other, rest satisfied for the time, and be generous of 
your recompense and caresses. But, for pity's sake, 
do not condemn your horse for a fault which is 
mostly your own. Be sure you are right before 
every demand; and do not form your opinion too 
soon. 

Finally, be sure that the surface on which the 
horse practices the passage is properly soft and 
elastic, lest its feet become sore, to its discourage- 
ment. Stay as much as possible near the wall, and 
keep the horse straight. Change the hand some- 
times, but not too often. Let the horse frequently 
stop and be free. Ask little; but ask well. Be satis- 
fied if the first sign of the desired cadence is from 
one biped only. So far as possible, work alone in the 
manege. Catch your pupil's attention and hold it 
on yourself. In a word, make him enjoy his lessons 
at the passage. Success depends upon you and upon 
nobody else. Remember that you cannot buy the 
accomplishment. You have to create it for your- 
self. 

There are, in addition, several more or less in- 
telligent and progressive mechanical devices for ob- 
taining the passage; but these are not accepted by 
the strictly scientific equitation. 

Baucher and Fillis employed a logical progres- 

294 



THE PASSAGE 

sion, when they used the Spanish walk and the 
Spanish trot as a preHminary to the passage. This, 
moreover, has been the order generally accepted by 
the equestrian world; since, of course, horses which 
already have the idea of sustaining and lifting their 
weight on diagonal bipeds, in cadence and tempo, 
will the more quickly understand the passage, and 
will require less equestrian tact on the part of the 
rider. I also, in my youth, like other trainers, ap- 
proached the passage by way of the Spanish trot. 
But when, later, I came to look upon the passage as 
the result of perfect equilibrium, I came also to un- 
derstand that the passage is impossible until one has 
obtained, first the assemblage, and then the piafTer, 
to give the idea of the diagonal action. Then, after 
the piafYer, comes the passage, with the extension 
of the fore legs and the flexion of the hocks and 
haunches. 



CHAPTER XXX 
THE PASSAGE BACKWARD 

The passage backward follows from the plaffer, and 
therefore presupposes a horse educated to the per- 
fect state of assemblage and equilibrium. 

A horse at the slow piaffer — which is, of course, 
the only form of the piaffer considered by the 
scientific equitation — balances itself on the same 
spot, all four legs flexing at the knees and hocks, but 
without gaining ground. The center of gravity is, 
therefore, midway of the body, and exactly under 
the seat of the rider. Under these conditions, the 
horse is like a large ball which rests upon a smooth 
and level surface, with which it is in contact, only at 
one end of a diameter. Evidently, the slightest 
force applied at the other end of this diameter will 
send the ball rolling in the direction of the force. 
So, in the piaffer, a force applied alternately on the 
two sides of the center of gravity makes the horse 
receive its weight alternately on its two diagonal 
bipeds. As the center of gravity shifts to the right, 
the left diagonal biped is raised, and vice versa. 

If, then, under these conditions, the rider leans 
forward, the horse must move forward, under the 
operation of the same law. But if, when the horse is 
lifting his legs in diagonal alternately upon the same 
spot, the rider's weight is inclined backward, the al- 

296 




Figure 38. the trot backwards 




Figure 39. gallop on three legs: right fore leg 

EXTENDED 




Figure 40. gallop on three legs : left fore leg 

EXTENDED 



THE PASSAGE BACKWARD 

ternate change from side to side still continuing, 
then the horse will trot backward. The hand has 
nothing to do with the action, except to maintain 
the equilibrium, by means of the fingering. 

When once the piafifer is obtained, the backward 
trot follows without much difficulty; but the move- 
ment needs moderation, and should begin with a 
few steps at first, the number increasing with prac- 
tice. (Figure 38.) 

The speed of the backward trot is not the test of 
its execution. A three-inch step, taken equally by 
each diagonal biped, and with the same cadence, 
tempo, and elevation as for the piafTer, is proof of a 
better equilibrium and a better training, than is any 
precipitate rush rearward in which the horse avoids 
the state of equilibrium by moving as it pleases. 
The air should always seem to be executed without 
exertion and without compulsion. The horse bal- 
ances itself with an easy action of the limbs in di- 
agonal, moves backward, returns to the piaffer, 
changes into the passage, returns to the piaffer, 
takes the backward trot. The rider's hands are im- 
mobile. The position of his body, as it swings like a 
pendulum into the correct place, is the force which 
actuates the mechanism. 

With this animal mechanism, the backward trot 
is in perfect accord. The movement is entirely 
natural, when it is done in equilibrium from the 
piaffer. But if it is obtained by severity of hand, 
spurs, or whip, it becomes precisely contrary to the 

297 



THE SCIENTIFIC EQUITATION 

horse's nature. It is then dangerous to the rider, be- 
cause the horse, pulled backward by the bridle, may 
rear and fall. 

However, the trot backward cannot properly be 
considered a gait of the horse. It is serviceable only 
for perfecting the equilibrium, and for suppling 
the entire hind hand, most especially the coupling. 

THE GALLOP ON THREE LEGS 

In the gallop on three legs, the horse uses both hind 
limbs ; but only one in front, and holds the other in 
the air. Before the movement is asked, the horse 
must already be able to maintain a complete and 
permanent equilibrium during the ordinary gallop, 
to execute the jamhette at the diagonal effect with 
great precision and with complete extension of the 
front leg, and to gallop, not terre-a-terre, but very 
slowly. (Figures 39, 40.) 

The movement is asked by decomposing the air 
into its elements. The horse gallops slowly in 
assemblage. The rider stops it, and by means of 
the right snaffle rein and the left spur, asks im- 
mediately the jamhette. After the jamhette, the 
horse is allowed to walk. Again the gallop, the 
stop, and the jamhette immediately. These three 
are repeated for whatever time is needed to calm 
the horse, and to teach it to keep straight when 
stopped and giving the jamhette. 

When the horse has mastered this exercise, the 
gallop is asked immediately after the jamhette, 

298 



THE PASSAGE BACKWARD 

without the intervening walk. From the gallop, the 
horse is stopped as before, made to give the jam- 
hette, and then started again at the gallop. Again, 
stop, jambette, start. Never change the lead ; al- 
ways keep working on the same side. 

After a certain time, it always comes about that 
the horse executes the jam&e//e just before it comes 
to the stop, partly of its own volition, and partly at 
the effects of the rider's hand and legs. The great 
point is, then, to seize upon this first single step of 
the gallop combined with th^ jambette or, in other 
words, of the gallop on three legs. When you have 
one — one only — caress with all your heart and 
send to the stable. 

The next day, the same procedure. The horse, as 
before, does one step of the gallop with the jam- 
bette held. Once more, caress, dismount, caress 
again, and to the stable. 

After a few days, get two steps of the gallop on 
three legs; then the next day, four. Continue in 
this way, but do not ask too much. When the horse 
does, let us say, five steps at the lead which he has 
been taught, change the lead and commence from 
the beginning precisely as before. Do not accept 
the slightest degree of confusion or mistake. Lean 
the body forward on the side of the jambette and 
push the horse forward with the legs. 

Fillis advocates using the left leg to secure and 
maintain the jambette, and also to continue the 
gallop. I have, at various times and with different 

299 



THE SCIENTIFIC EQUITATION 

horses, obtained the jamhette by holding the right 
snaffle rein in the right hand, high, and the curb 
reins low in the left in order to maintain the horse's 
head near the perpendicular, while my legs confine 
themselves to the effects needed for the gallop. 

It is evident that, to obtain the gallop on three 
legs, the horse must be morally and physically per- 
fect, or else have been adequately developed by its 
previous training. Moreover, the rider must him- 
self possess delicate equestrian tact, and have per- 
fect control over his effects. Even then, he will not 
always be successful, unless he has already ed- 
ucated several horses in the scientific equitation. 

The gallop on three legs is a beautiful demonstra- 
tion of the power of the man's effects over the an- 
imal ; but it is of use only for this purpose and in the 
manege. Outside the manege, the air has no value 
whatever. It is, then, reasonable enough to teach 
the air to the manege horse, but not to horses that 
are for other service ; and in general I think that the 
strength of the horse and the tact of the rider are 
better spent on more useful movements. I even go 
so far as to say that the gallop on three legs is a 
source of danger both in the case of a beginner and 
of a master who is training an animal for some one 
else to ride. For if the rider of a horse trained to the 
gallop on three legs is not a thoroughly competent 
esquire, he will not always use exactly the correct 
means to obtain the change of lead at the gallop, 
the change of direction, or the stop. He may, in 

300 



THE PASSAGE BACKWARD 

that case, start the horse to galloping on three legs — 
to its great confusion. 

Moreover, during the gallop on three legs, the 
horse is completely on his haunches. The hind legs 
carr>' all the weight, advance by very short steps, 
and always very close to the ground. Therefore, 
unless the horse is sent forward by the weight of the 
rider and by a strong effect of legs and spurs cou- 
pled with great tact of hand, the creature is exactly 
in the position to rear high. The gallop on three 
legs, like the gallop backward, demands a com- 
bination of favorable conditions as to both horse 
and rider that is in practice pretty difficult to 
find. 

Considering, then, the danger to the horse's hocks 
and to its temper, and the peril to the rider, I can- 
not feel that the usefulness of the gait at all compen- 
sates for the wear and tear on the one or the risk to 
the other. Fillis has, indeed, executed the air most 
brilliantly, on the different occasions when he has 
exhibited his horses. I have performed the feat 
with several different animals. But, on the whole, 
the game has not been worth the candle. 

THE GALLOP A TEMPO 

This form of the gallop is a slow canter, in which 
the lead changes rhythmically from one biped to the 
other with each completion of a fixed number of 
steps. For example, the horse gallops ten steps 
to the right, and then on the eleventh it changes 

301 



THE SCIENTIFIC EQUITATION 

and gallops ten steps to the left. On the twenty- 
first step it returns to the right-hand lead; and 
so on. 

The difficulty is for the rider to keep count of the 
steps, since the air demands for its correct perform- 
ance that the number shall always be exactly the 
same. Moreover, at its best, the movement requires 
the change of lead at every step — one stride w^ith 
lead to the right, then the change to the left, then 
one stride with lead to the left, and again the 
change back to the right, thus continuing indef- 
initely. Naturally, this demands thorough training 
for the horse and the highest equestrian tact from 
the rider. 

Both Baucher and Fillis have performed this air 
with remarkable evenness of rhythm. Fillis, also, 
once upon a time, laid a heavy wager with certain 
amateur horsemen, who denied the possibility of 
the gallop a tempo, that he would ride from the 
Arc de Triomphe to the Place de la Concorde, with 
a change of lead after every step. The grand master 
won. 

In training a horse for this air, the change of lead 
should be at first only once in every twenty steps. 
Afterwards, with the greatest patience and moder- 
ation, the number is reduced progressively. The 
exercise demands great energy from the horse, 
which must throughout remain perfectly calm. 
Whatever the number of steps between changes of 
lead, this must always remain unvaried. 

302 




Figure 41. the gallop terre a terre 



THE PASSAGE BACKWARD 

THE GALLOP BACKWARD 

For the gallop backward, the horse must be of 
perfect conformation, especially in its hind quarters, 
and must be educated to the point where it can 
interpret almost imperceptible effects of the rider. 
Its equilibrium and assemblage must be perfect — • 
the sine qua non of this air, since the gait is very 
precise and the beats equal and uniform — and its 
strength must be sufficient to sustain without appar- 
ent exertion the gallop terre-a-terre. (Figure 41.) 

In the gallop terre-a-terre, as in the piaffer, the 
horse is like a ball resting on one pole and movable 
by the slightest force. If, then, the rider's effects, 
by their lack of equality, timing, fineness, or uni- 
formity, disturb this perfect equilibrium, the gallop 
terre-a-terre becomes impossible. But if the rider's 
effects are precisely correct, the horse will continue 
to gallop on the same spot, like the ball resting on 
a pole. Under these conditions, if the rider's weight 
shifts on the seat to throw the center of gravity 
backward of the perpendicular around which the 
whole mechanism has centered, the horse will be 
forced to move backward in order to prevent falling. 

Meanwhile, of course, the rider, by his effects, 
must continue to maintain the equilibrium and the 
gait of the gallop. If either is disturbed ("evap- 
orated" is the expression I use with my pupils), the 
horse loses either its equilibrium and then its gallop, 
or else its gallop and then its equilibrium. In either 

303 



THE SCIENTIFIC EQUITATION 

case, the movement becomes dislocated and im- 
possible. 

But the swing of the rider's body should never 
be a stiff inclination backward of a rigid spine. 
The weight is, at the beginning, immobile upon the 
saddle. Then for the change, the rider's spine plays 
back and forth, flexing at the coupling between the 
sacrum and the last lumbar vertebra, in time with 
each beat of the gallop and at the precise instant 
when the horse's two hind feet are off the ground, 
and the right fore leg only is bearing the weight — 
assuming that the backward gallop starts from the 
gallop terre-a-terre on the right lateral biped. This 
translation of the weight by the flexion of the cou- 
pling is to be repeated at each beat of the stride. 
Meanwhile, the rider's legs have to sustain the 
equilibrium and to hold the contact of the horse's 
mouth with the bits. 

If, now, the rider, as he swings his weight, merely 
closes his fingers, without moving his hand, the 
horse will gallop backward, one step only, but still 
one step. That obtained, stop everything, yield 
everything, and caress. When the horse has be- 
come calm, forward again at the walk and the 
terre-a-terre at the same hand as before. Be quiet 
yourself; flex your spine; finger. Another step 
backward. That is enough for the time being. 
Dismount; and to the stable. The next day, the 
same progression. 

After a few days, you will be able to obtain 

304 



THE PASSAGE BACKWARD 

three or four backward steps. When the horse 
executes these calmly at the hand at which it was 
first taught, change the lead and repeat the same 
work at the new hand. Always keep the horse 
straight and forw^ard. Better work near the wall, 
as this will aid in keeping the straight position. 

If the horse is to be completely educated in the 
scientific equitation, it is better to teach the gallop 
backward before the gallop on three legs. Other- 
wise, the horse may give the gallop on three legs 
when asked for the gallop terre-a-terre. You cannot 
punish it for a mistake like this, and the result is 
confusion. But if the horse has thoroughly learned 
the terre-a-terre and the backward gallop, it is a far 
easier matter to push it forward against the contact, 
and so change from the terre-d-terre to the gallop on 
three legs, than to restrain it from the gallop on 
three legs to the gallop terre-d-terre. 

In beginning either the terre-d-terre or the gallop 
backward, do not accept from the horse the slight- 
est sign of being behind the hand. If you feel this 
at all, use your legs vigorously and push the animal 
forward upon the hand. The rider can always de- 
tect this tendency to stay behind the hand; and 
should correct it by giving three minutes of good, 
energetic promenade trot. For this purpose, I pre- 
fer the trot to the gallop, since at the gallop one 
lateral biped tends to get more work than the 
other, unless the rider takes pains to change hands. 
In any case, the gallop does not give so complete 

305 



THE SCIENTIFIC EQUITATION 

a disposition of the animal's forces as does the 
trot. 

The ''in hand" for the gallop backward is be- 
tween the "upon the hand" and "behind the 
hand." A horse upon the hand lifts its front legs 
too high and its hind legs not high enough. But if 
the rider livens it by the action of his own legs, the 
horse rears or points forward. If the horse is behind 
the hand, the fore legs do not lift sufficiently, and 
the tempo of the gallop is not exact. It is, however, 
not possible to describe completely the sensation 
which comes to the rider's hand, and only by ex- 
perience can the rider determine whether he is right 
or wrong. 

In fine, then, perfect equilibrium, terre-d-terre, 
perfect equilibrium, flexion of the rider's coupling, 
fingering, moderation, and good fortune. The 
backward gallop proves uncommon suppleness on 
the part of the horse, together with great strength 
in the haunches. On the part of the rider, it proves 
high equestrian tact. Yet the position which the 
horse takes and the action of its legs are far from 
graceful, and the utility of the air is debatable. It 
risks the soundness of the horse's hocks, and it is 
certainly not worth attempting by a beginner, who 
has to spoil several horses physically and morally 
before he attains to the tact and the accuracy 
of seat essential to the gallop backward without 
danger. 

And yet, for any rider, experience with the gallop 

306 




Figure 42. fillis at the gallop 

BACKWARD 




Figure 43. " why-not " at the gallop 

BACKWARD 



THE PASSAGE BACKWARD 

backward cannot be other than very Hmited. Very 
few esquires have ever obtained the movement. I 
know of only Baucher and FilHs, and even they 
with only two or three horses each. Moreover, it 
is absurd for any one to think that any horse can 
do the backward gallop really well for more than a 
few strides, because of the great energy demanded. 

I give (Figures 42, 43) as illustrations of the 
movement, Fillis mounted upon "Germinal," and 
myself upon "Why-Not," in order that the reader 
may compare the leg action of the two horses at 
the same gait. "Germinal" is fifteen hands, three 
inches high: "Why-Not" is sixteen hands, three 
inches. Although the backward gallop is the last 
refinement of equilibrium possible to the horse, it 
is in itself pleasant neither for the horse nor for the 
spectator. "Why-Not"is the fourth animal from 
which I have obtained it, not for my own satisfac- 
tion, but for the sake of making a picture for this 
book, in which I set forth nothing that I have not 
myself done. 

And now, finally, at the end of this last chapter 
on horse gymnastics, I beg the reader to review the 
illustrations, and to compare the several pictures of 
"Why-Not" before his training and at the various 
stages of his development during the course and at 
the end. These photographs prove amply the mus- 
cular improvement accomplished during the horse's 
education. 



307 



CHAPTER XXXI 
HANDS WITHOUT LEGS: LEGS WITHOUT HANDS 

"Hands without legs, legs without hands," is the 
name applied to a new principle in equitation enun- 
ciated by Baucher only a few years before his death. 
It resulted in a schism among horsemen, and the 
new ideas were opposed by many masters and es- 
quires. 

I have myself experimented with the new meth- 
ods upon horses of very different qualities. My own 
conclusion is that the system is practicable only for 
a very able horseman training an animal of very 
superior endowments, both physical and mental. 
I do not regard the scheme as workable for any 
rider dealing with a horse of inferior conformation, 
or for an inexperienced rider dealing with any sort 
of horse. 

For it must be evident that, with a horse of su- 
perior conformation, the state of equilibrium is both 
more easily obtained and more easily kept by the 
ordinary principles of the reasoned and the scien- 
tific equitation, hands and legs being used together 
for the different movements, than with an inferior 
animal. Moreover, the less perfectly conformed 
the animal is, the more difficult is it to maintain the 
state of equilibrium, even with the aid of hands and 
legs together. 

308 



HANDS WITHOUT LEGS 

In other words, with a well-conformed horse, the 
state of equiHbrium is very easy for a practiced 
rider and very difficult for a novice. With a badly 
conformed horse, the desired state is difficult for 
the experienced esquire, and very nearly impossible 
for the inexperienced, even if they both employ 
both hands and legs. 

It comes about, then, that, whether the horse be 
well or ill conformed, it has to be trained to the 
condition of .equilibrium by means of both hands 
and legs. But the horse once trained, though not 
before, it becomes possible to preserve the state of 
equilibrium by means of the rider's legs without 
the cooperation of his hands, or by means of his 
hands without the cooperation of his legs. 

But now arises the question, how does accuracy 
of seat act upon the center of gravity, which is the 
immediate sequence of the state of equilibrium? 
The answer is, that this equilibrium is a unit, and 
the center of gravity is an element. We obtain this 
unified condition by the accord of our effects of 
hands and of legs. But if, when we have obtained 
this unit condition, we employ more effect of hands 
or more effect of legs in order to execute a move- 
ment, we at once disturb the original unity. There- 
upon the equilibrium vacillates between the hands 
and the legs, and does not remain permanently 
anywhere. 

On the other hand, by means of accuracy of seat, 
we are able to act upon this unified condition of 

309 



THE SCIENTIFIC EQUITATION 

equilibrium without destroying it. I am the first to 
enunciate this principle of the efficiency of accuracy 
of seat. I know that I shall be the object of criti- 
cism; but I consent to accept this. Beati pauperes 
spiritu, regnum cceli habent. 



PART IV 

THE DEFENSES OF THE HORSE AND 
THEIR CORRECTION > 



CHAPTER XXXII 

THE DEFENSES OF THE HORSE AND 
THEIR CORRECTION 

Even the masters of equitation have to admit that 
it is very nearly impossible to complete the educa- 
tion of any horse without having the animal show 
some tendency to lack of obedience, some trace of 
hesitation, refusal, or revolt. The experienced mas- 
ter senses this condition at its beginning; and with- 
out losing any time he discovers the reason for it, 
and corrects the trouble forthwith. At the early 
stage, correction is comparatively easy. But when 
the animal has once formed the habit of rebellion, 
correction is very difficult, indeed. The result is 
sometimes a downright fight between rider and 
horse. 

The problem is, therefore, to discover the reason 
for the horse's defense, and then to remove the 
cause before the horse gets the idea that disobedi- 
ence is possible. Experience shows, moreover, that 
these causes are generally physical. The only men- 
tal factor is the fear of injury from some object 
heard, seen, or smelled. This mental state is to be 
remedied only by persuasion, patience, and good 
treatment. 

The physical causes of defense are bodily pains 
and the consequent memory of them. A horse will, 

313 



THE DEFENSES OF THE HORSE 

however, very seldom defend itself against the first 
sensation of an unknown pain, but only if the pain 
be prolonged or repeated. Furthermore, a horse 
does not enter immediately into the state of 
revolt. 

At the beginning, it simply hesitates to act and 
move as it has been doing. Then it tries to stop. 
Finally, it does stop, and thereupon enters into 
complete rebellion. The moment when the horse 
first tries to stop is, of course, the point at which the 
rider should quell the approaching revolt. The 
rider, therefore, so to say, takes hold of the horse's 
legs and forces these to carry the body forward, at 
any gait, in order that the animal may not feel that 
its limbs have any possibility of stopping. What- 
ever the horse may think, the rider's only argument 
is: "Yes; forward and straight." 

Consequent to this first sign of revolt, the refusal 
to go forward, there is a contraction of the muscles 
of the spinal column and of the white and yellow 
cords, the animal is in revolt against the rider and 
his main controls are lost, and the defenses become 
possible. These defenses are of four sorts, rearing, 
kicking, backing, and bolting. All other defenses 
depend on the possibility of these four primordial 
ones. 

REFUSAL 

A HORSE refuses when, because of its moral state, it i 
uses its great physical strength to disobey the com- 

314 



REFUSAL 

mands of its rider. The two wills, the horse's and 
the man's, are opposed. The man asks. The horse 
refuses. The point at issue becomes, then, whether 
the man is to remain master by virtue of his intel- 
ligence. 

The initial step is to find the reason for the horse's 
revolt. Has he, first of all, been obedient, and has 
he already executed the movement asked? If he 
has, then something new must have occurred to 
alter the previous state of submission. With a little 
experience, coupled with a great deal of calm, it is 
always easy to discover what this something is. 
We inspect our saddle and girths, the snaffle and 
bit and throat latch. We consider whether some 
small departure from the habit already formed by 
the animal has not provoked the refusal. Have we 
not repeated the same movement in exaggerated 
form? Are we correct in our use of our effects? Are 
these understood by the horse? Is he tired, or con- 
fused, or sick, or lame? 

No, everything is all right, and as usual. The 
horse revolts from pure willfulness, because it de- 
sires to be master. Very well, I will tell you how to 
handle this condition. 

If the manege or the road is too much crowded 
with women, children, and beginners, wait pa- 
tiently and without provoking any further rebel- 
lion, until you are alone and free for the little fun 
that you are going to give your mount. 

First make sure that you are entirely in the right 

315 



THE DEFENSES OF THE HORSE 

and perfectly calm, with not the least passion or 
anger. Have a whip brought, but hide it out of the 
horse's sight, by holding it, handle down and lash 
up, straight in line with his neck. 

Then begin to encourage the horse in a firm, 
gentle voice. If it obeys, caress it, and let it go on 
at a walk calmly. Then ask a more complicated 
movement. If the horse refuses or hesitates, there 
is a rending sound in the air, followed by a dull one 
like that of a bullet entering a man's chest. All this 
is very sharp, sudden, and surprising. The horse 
turns his head to left and to right, not know- 
ing whence the stroke has come. But the whip has 
been felt, most certainly; and the horse is van- 
quished. 

If it begins again, the rider is ready, and proceeds 
as before. Two or three such corrections put the 
horse back into the state of obedience as he was 
before his revolt. But if the horse knows, after the 
refusal, that the rider has the whip ready, it will 
then obey; and later, when the whip is not at hand, 
it will again refuse. It is important, therefore, that 
the horse shall not know that the rider has the whip, 
nor just what happens to him. Then, if he refuses, 
the chastisement follows immediately, and there is 
engraven on his memory the association between 
the disobedience and the physical pain. But the 
pain comes as a surprise to the horse, who does not 
know what caused it nor where the instrument has 
gone. 

316 



RESISTANCE 

There can be no complete education of a horse 
without an occasional refusal. But the point is to 
see it coming and to forestall it by equestrian tact, 
or at the worst not to let the habit grow. Raabe, 
Baucher, and Fillis have all had real tempests of 
revolt from their horses. I who write these lines 
have had some fights, but not many. Those which 
I have been through make me very sad; because 
they show me that, with all my studies and with all 
my long years of experience, I do not know enough 
to ride without being obliged to punish. 

RESISTANCE 

Resistance and refusal are very nearly synony- 
mous, but not quite. A horse may refuse to execute 
certain movements, but will, nevertheless, perform 
others. Or he may refuse to perform the movement 
in the way desired by the rider, yet still do it after 
his own fashion, incorrectly. But when a horse 
resists, he enters willfully into a state of complete 
revolt, and tries to free himself from any sort of 
control. He may carry his rider into a river, and no 
effort will prevent him. No effects, no means, se- 
vere or gentle, will make him obey. Either he will 
not understand the rider's orders; or else, under- 
standing them, he will not carry them out. 

If the horse resists because he does not under- 
stand, then the best corrective is patience, per- 
severance, and persuasion, without punishment. 
But if the horse understands, yet refuses to obey, 

317 



THE DEFENSES OF THE HORSE 

the cause may be bad will, fear, confusion, or fa- 
tigue. 

When fear is the cause, the terrifying object may 
be seen, heard, or, very rarely, smelt. The cure is 
to reestablish the animal's confidence, by proving 
to him that the object is inoffensive. 

If the horse resists because he is confused, the 
fault is the rider's own. He should, therefore, dis- 
tract the horse's mind until the confused images 
have faded from its memory. Then he should begin 
again, avoiding his former error. 

If fatigue is the cause of the resistance, the rem- 
edy is to proceed with moderation, and to ask only 
such work as is proportionate to the horse's age, 
strength, and training. 

But if the fault is in the horse's evil will, the rider 
should first make perfectly certain that all his sig- 
nals meet the same resistance, without the vSmallest 
sign of any return to submission. This done, he 
should punish, with severity, but without passion. 
Only thus can the horse be made to understand 
that its will is to be submitted to the rider's control. 

Veterinary science is no doubt correct in the 
opinion that there are defects in the horse's brain, 
analogous to those in the brain of a man, which 
cause obstinacy, if not insanity. My own experi- 
ence, nevertheless, goes to show that the cause of 
resistances, refusals, and similar difficulties have 
their basis in ordinary physical defects, which can 
be cured by moderate and proper education. 

318 



CONTRACTION 

CONTRACTION 

A HORSE IS instinctively timid and anxious, even in 
a state of freedom; and this nervous tension tends 
to affect the muscles and to cause these to contract 
and stiffen beyond their normal tonus. 

This contraction is likely to be augmented during 
the animal's education. Its four senses are very 
acute, and the unaccustomed objects which sur- 
round it keep it chronically alarmed. The harness 
also, and the contact of the rider, with his various 
effects, and all the various checks and impediments 
of the domestic life, tend, until the horse becomes 
wonted to them, still further to increase its nervous 
alarm. To relieve this state of contraction is one 
task of the horseman. 

Whether this state of anxiety and contraction is 
treated properly or improperly determines in large 
measure the future temper of the mount. The well- 
disposed animal will always be ready to obey as 
soon as it understands what the rider wants of it. 
Moreover, until the horse begins to contract itself, 
it cannot resist. But this contraction is easily de- 
tected by the rider, through his seat, legs, and hand. 
If the rider is inexperienced, he tries to counteract 
this while the horse is in motion. The abler rider, 
on the other hand, immediately stops the horse and 
relieves the contraction. When this is completely 
at an end, he once more sends the animal forward, 
properly supple. 

319 



THE DEFENSES OF THE HORSE 

This is Baucher's principle. Fillis advocates de- 
stroying the contraction while the horse is still 
moving. But a rider of Fillis's ability can do this 
without danger of confusing his mount, since his 
seat is so secure that he can resist the defenses 
which follow the contraction without impairing his 
effects of hand and legs. But the student or the 
ordinary rider cannot do this. If he attempts it, he 
endangers the temper of the horse and the sound- 
ness of its limbs. Moreover, the horse gets the idea 
that it can refuse by contracting; and when the 
rider applies his effects in correction, the horse dis- 
covers that it can resist these by bounding. All this 
it retains in its memory for use whenever it wishes 
to defend itself against the rider. 

Baucher, on the contrary, always starts from the 
equestrian axiom: The horse's position of supple- 
ness and balance make possible the execution of 
the movement asked. This position, since it is the 
foundation of every movement, must be permanent. 
To permit the animal to conceive the possibility of 
movement when not occupying this position is to 
accustom it to the possibility of contractions, re- 
fusals, and bounds. But to stop the horse at the 
first sign of contraction, to restore its suppleness at 
once, and only then to carry it forward, is to im- 
press upon its memory the impossibility of moving 
unless supple and balanced. To follow out this 
principle invariably develops with the progress of 
the instruction a second nature in the horse, bene- 

320 



THE HARD-MOUTHED HORSE 

fits Its morals, and economizes the wear and tear of 
its physical mechanism. My own opinion and prac- 
tice agree with those of Baucher. 

THE HARD-MOUTHED HORSE 

The hard-mouthed horse has insensitive bars; and 
is, therefore, able to resist the bit. Baucher insists 
that there Is no such thing. FIllIs admits Its exist- 
ence, but lays it to the lack of skill of former riders. 
I, in a way, agree with them both. 

Fillls offsets the lack of sensibility by using a 
severer bit. His method Is sound and practical for 
the man who must ride a hard-mouthed animal, 
yet has not the time to educate his mount. But the 
severe bit is only a provisional remedy, since the 
horse will very soon become accustomed to this also 
and pull against it as before. For the trainer who 
can spare the time needed for a real cure, Baucher's 
idea is the right one, and I am completely of his 
opinion. 

I have already explained that, in natural con- 
formation, there are three sorts of bars. I do not, 
however, believe that the lack of sensibility of any 
sort follows directly from its shape. It is, rather, 
an indirect result of other causes. 

Consider, for example, two different horses, rid- 
den by the same trainer, who we will assume is 
entirely competent. One of these animals is well 
conformed, with a somewhat heavy neck, and 
heavy or fleshy bars. The other is badly conformed 

321 



THE DEFENSES OF THE HORSE 

and weak, but with a well-proportioned neck and 
good bars. The first horse, having ample strength 
to carry its load, is a good deal at its ease. At the 
beginning of its training, it will pull. But the hand 
of the rider being fixed, the horse will very soon find 
that pulling brings no relief to the sensation on the 
bars. Thereupon, its jaw will more or less relax; 
and since the rider's fingers now also relax, the 
horse finds it profitable not to bear against the bit. 
Meanwhile, the rider does not allow the horse to 
take any initiative, but pushes it forward at will, 
by the effects of his legs. Since the horse is well 
conformed and carries the weight without too 
much effort, it complies with the rider's wishes 
without objection. 

Turn now to the other horse. Because of its 
weakness in legs and spine, this animal cannot carry 
its load without constraint and a general contrac- 
tion of all its muscles, so that its balance becomes 
disturbed. It stiffens the muscles of its neck. The 
contraction spreads from the neck to the lower jaw. 
The bars are set. The horse pulls against the hand, 
and is called hard-mouthed. The longer the train- 
ing continues, the harder-mouthed does it become, 
up to the time when the gymnastic exercises have 
developed its strength sufficiently for it to carry its 
rider and execute its commands with ease and com- 
fort. Then it becomes like the first horse. 

I hold — my experience compels me to hold — 
that the well-bred, well-conformed horse, strong 

322 



CARRYING THE HEAD TOO LOW 

and sound, very seldom resists the rider. But the 
case is exactly reversed for the horse that is weak, 
badly conformed, or unsound. It is for this obvi- 
ous reason that I insist on the fundamental dif- 
ference between the training of a horse and its 
education. 

Evidently, then, the treatment of a hard mouth 
is not a question of using a more or less severe bit. 



CARRYING THE HEAD TOO LOW 

Porter has it is called in French, when a horse lets 
its head drop below the correct position, either 
because of bad natural con- 
formation, or because of 
weakness in the neck mus- 
cles. Sometimes the head 
is too large and heavy for 
the front hand to support. 
Sometimes the weakness is 
in the loins. Sometimes the 
croup is too high in relation 
to the withers. 

Where the defect is exces- 
sive, correction is very diffi- 
cult indeed. In milder cases, 
the imperfection in one part 
of the body is compensated 
for by over-development in another; and these the 
esquire will cure by progressive exercises, espe- 
cially flexions of the mouth and neck. I especially 

323 




HEAD TOO LOW 



THE DEFENSES OF THE HORSE 

recommend the progression: flexions, followed by 
mobilization of the front and hind hands in place. 
If this work is done with perseverance and ability, 
the esquire will demonstrate by his success the 
truth and value of his art. 

This defect occurs very often in horses in the 
United States. The inbreeding of the native stock 
has tended to make the loins weak; and since a 
horse, in order to carry its head high, has to shift 
some of its weight from the fore to the hind legs, 
weakness of the loins tends to prevent this and so 
to make the head hang too low. Moreover, the 
theory, widely held in America, that the natural 
way for a horse to eat is off the stable floor as if he 
were cropping grass, tends to stretch the muscles 
which hold up the head, and so make the horse 
heavy upon the hand. 

CARRYING THE HEAD TOO HIGH 

To porter la tete au vent is to pivot the skull at the 
atlas region, and swing it upward into a horizontal 
position. The head thus carried, neither the curb 
bit nor the snaffle bears upon the bars, but merely 
pulls upon the commissure of the two lips, pressing 
these against the first molar teeth. 

The cause of the fault may be too severe a bit, 
too short a curb chain, too heavy-handed a rider, or 
too injudicious and severe punishment, which has 
produced a moral revolution in the horse and made 
it try to escape the man's control. In these cases, 

324 



CARRYING THE HEAD TOO HIGH 

the trouble is only occasional; and the rider, cor- 
recting himself, will correct his horse. 

But if this wrong carriage is often repeated, and 




.^y- 



HEAD TOO HIGH 



without provocation from the rider, then the cause 
lies in some defect of conformation, as long and 
weak loins, or too straight hocks, which are some- 
times the beginning of spavin or curb, or else in 

325 



THE DEFENSES OF THE HORSE 

some local trouble, such as pain in the kidneys, a 
sore mouth, or sharp teeth. In the latter cases, re- 
moving the cause will at once effect a cure. But for 
weakness of loins or hocks, the remedy is progres- 
sive work with the flexions with mobilization of the 
hind hand backward. 

A standing martingale will, of course, keep the 
head from being carried too high. But it will not 
remove the cause. 

PULLING AGAINST THE HAND 

A HORSE pulls against the hand when it takes the 
bit as a point of support. It may do this in either of 
two ways. In one case, it may object to the pressure 
of the bit on its bars, and may try to free itself of 
the pain, by extending its neck forward with mus- 
cles contracted, taking a point of support, and pull- 
ing with all its might. The corrective for this is a 
milder bit, and flexions of the mouth and neck. I 
say, mouth and neck, because sometimes the bars are 
the reason for the pulling, and sometimes the neck, 
so that either may be the cause and either the effect. 
In the other case, the cause is a bad conformation 
which was not corrected at the beginning of the 
education when the horse was young. A badly 
shaped neck, a few saccades of the reins in the hands 
of an unskillful rider, and the horse has so vivid a 
remembrance that it bears against the hand to 
avoid flexing its neck and opening its mouth. Some- 
times, too, if the fore legs are weak, the animal 

326 



PULLING AGAINST THE HAND 

stiffens its neck and pulls against the rider's hand 
for the sake of supporting limbs in which it has no 
confidence. Or, again, the weak point is in the loins, 
or the coupling; and because the region where the 
fore and hind hands join is not strong enough to 
permit the horse's supporting himself with the loins, 
he keeps himself upon the hand by pulling against 
the bit. 

Some authors have maintained that pulling on 
the hand is the result of bad conformation of the 
bars. If this were the case, it should always be pos- 
sible to find a bit of such a form that it will com- 
pensate for this defect. I, however, agree with 
Baucher's opinion that the trouble lies in a general 
weakness or bad conformation of the body, which 
makes it difficult for the horse to place itself in- 
stinctively, or be placed by the rider, in the correct 
position of assemblage. Since, then, the horse is 
wrongly set, it tries to support itself by pulling 
against the hand. 

In every instance, therefore, the proper way to 
correct the fault is to develop the animal's strength 
by progressive gymnastics and by good and ample 
food, meanwhile, freeing the contractions of the 
mouth and neck by means of flexions, which will 
not only supple these parts, but will besides develop 
their strength and conformation. If the seat of the 
difficulty is in the loins, the coupling, or the hind 
legs, the proper treatment is through backing and 
the reversed pirouette, executed as a moderate and 

327 



THE DEFENSES OF THE HORSE 

progressive gymnastic until the requisite strength 
is attained. 

BEATING AGAINST THE HAND 

Nothing is more uncomfortable on horseback than 
a mount which, at the slightest effect of bit or snaf- 
fle on its bars, refuses to obey, and to avoid the 
contact shakes its head in every direction, or, as 
the French call it, hattre a la main. 

There are several reasons for this defect. Most 
generally, it is due to some rider's too severe hand 
on bars that are too sharp, to a bridle wrongly ad- 
justed to the horse's mouth, to too tight a curb 
chain, or to some previous saccades against sensi- 
tive bars. All these result from ignorance on the 
part of the rider or of the caretaker. They are cor- 
rected by the rider's greater experience, better 
instruction in horsemanship, a change in the bit, or, 
mechanically, by a standing martingale. 

Very often, too, the beating against the hand is 
the consequence of some defect of conformation, 
some wound, or lameness. The horse's head and 
neck are like the balancing pole of the rope dancer; 
and if there is something wrong with the conforma- 
tion of the backbone or its spine, some trouble with 
the kidneys, the coupling, or the pelvis, if the mus- 
cles of the back have become sore under the saddle, 
the horse may, in consequence, shake its head. But 
the cause will be in some derangement of the animal 
mechanism. 

328 



CHAMPING THE BIT 

Still a third cause is unsoundness of the hocks, 
curb, and spavin. For these a veterinarian will 
have to be consulted. In general, when everything 
about the horse is all right, it will take the contact 
when sent against the bit. But if anything is wrong, 
it will refuse contact and beat against the rider's 
hand. 

CHAMPING THE BIT 

Thus Newcastle translates hegayer, meaning a 
stammering or stuttering movement of the horse's 
lips or teeth. 

The properly educated horse takes the contact of 
the bit, and at the contact opens its mouth by con- 
tracting the digastrius muscle. At the cessation of 
the contact, the mouth closes again by the action of 
the temporalis. Early in its education, the horse 
opens and shuts its mouth quickly and at its own 
will; not calmly and precisely. It lips, stutters, and 
stammers. One hears easily the sound made by the 
snaffle, which is first lifted by the tongue and then 
dropped against the bit. While this is pardonable 
in a horse at the beginning of its training, it is a 
serious defect for the more advanced animal, and 
should be corrected as soon as possible, before the 
habit becomes fixed. Otherwise, it may become the 
cause of further refusals of obedience from mouth, 
neck, or the entire organism. 

It is certain that the horse which lips, stutters, or 
stammers has already developed a mouth more 

329 



THE DEFENSES OF THE HORSE 

sensitive than before the training began. The Ig- 
norant, therefore, whose number is legion, hearing 
the noise, think that the flexion of the mouth is 
complete. This is a mistake. The sound really 
comes from the mouthpiece of the Liverpool bit 
sliding on the shaft of the branches. 

I object, therefore, to this sort of bit for the sad- 
dle horse. The effect on the bars is not sufficiently 
precise. The shaft, by allowing the mouthpiece to 
slide on the branches, makes it possible for the 
cannon to transmit the pressure from the hand 
from below upward along the bars, and in conse- 
quence to press the mucous membrane of the bars 
against the first molars. When the rider's hand is 
rigid, the mouthpiece stays pressed against these 
teeth. When the hand cedes, the mouthpiece drops. 
At the next effect of the hand, it again slides up. 
Thus it is the mouthpiece only which responds to 
the pressure of the hand, not the lower jaw, though 
this yielding of the lower jaw is the sine qua non of 
the flexions of the mouth and neck. 

The horse, properly trained with snaffle and curb, 
raises its tongue very lightly as it opens its mouth, 
finds the snaffle with its tongue and lifts this. As 
the effect of the hand ceases, the tongue returns to 
its normal position, and the snaffle falls against the 
mouthpiece of the bit and makes the silvery note 
so precious to the rider. But with the Liverpool bit, 
it Is the bit itself which gives the sound. The rea- 
soned and the scientific equitation recognize flex- 

330 



STAMMERING 

ions of the neck only as they are dependent upon 
flexions of the lower jaw. 

Some horses, nervous and excitable by nature, 
sometimes champ their bits because of their own 
energy and impatience. This is not so much a fault 
as a proof of energy, which properly directed be- 
comes one of the qualities of a good horse. 

STAMMERING 

Stammering is a contortion of the horse's mouth 
which occurs when the rider's hand asks the direct 
flexion. There should be a feeling of square contact 
before the flexion, which, as the mouth opens, 
should pass into a sort of honeyed sensation in the 
rider's fingers. This should be exactly square and 
equal. If, however, one of the bars does not cede 
precisely like the other, but holds the contact when 
the other has yielded completely, the horse is said 
to stammer. The same word is used, also, when the 
horse grinds, gnashes, cracks, snaps, or slaps its 
teeth. 

The horse's nervousness, irritability, or impa- 
tience is what makes it casser la noisette; and the 
correction is by obtaining the complete direct flex- 
ion of the lower jaw. A young horse, at the begin- 
ning of its education, is pretty likely to stammer, 
and must be excused. But the trainer must take 
care that the stammering does not become a habit, 
since, when once fixed, it is difficult to cure. 

On the other hand, this cracking of the teeth 

331 



THE DEFENSES OF THE HORSE 

together has been employed successfully by the au- 
thor to cure the fault of "making forces," discussed 
just below, and also to correct the habit of putting 
the tongue over the bit. In either case, the horse 
will bite its tongue, and having done this two or 
three times, will desist forever. Such bites of the 
tongue are not serious. A little salt or sugar, helped 
by the saliva, will heal the wound in a day or two. 
The corrective of stammering is to complete 
the progressive work of the flexions. The direct 
flexion will always reestablish calm in the general 
organism. 

FAIRE DES FORCES 

A HORSE is said to "make forces" when it takes a 
wrong position of the lower jaw and resists the 
effects of the rider's hand. This may take the form 
of shutting the lower jaw against the upper at the 
effect of the bit, of opening the mouth too wide and 
keeping it thus, or of carrying the jaw to the right 
or left at the solicitation of snaffle or bit and hold- 
ing it there against the effect of the rider's hand. 

The fault is generally the result of bad conforma- 
tion of the hind legs or of weakness of the loins. In 
a well-conformed animal, it arises from incorrect, 
too severe, or badly adjusted bits, from roughness 
of hand and irregular gaits, and sometimes from too 
sharp teeth on one side of the mouth. In this latter 
case, the only remedy is to have the teeth filed by 
a dentist. 

332 



FAIRE DES FORCES 

If the trouble comes from weakness of the loins, 
the corrective is progressive exercise of the loin or 
ilio-spinalis muscles by such movements as reversed 
pirouettes, backing, and standing; but these are not 
always effective. 

A horse which "makes forces" is not agreeable 
to ride until it is cured of the failing, because of the 
uncertainty of control, since it may, at the slightest 
occasion for bad will or fear of objects, resist and 
refuse to obey the rider's effects. Very generally, 
too, the fault is accompanied by some other dif- 
ficulty with the mouth, and the horse lolls with its 
tongue, puts its tongue over the bit, or pulls its 
tongue back behind the bit and carries it rolled into 
a ball. 

Various bits have been Invented to remedy these 
tricks. Fillis recommends a bit with a palette to 
come in the middle of the free portion of the tongue. 
In a class for ladies' saddle horses at the National 
Horse Show in New York City, among twenty-five 
horses, I found five with rings in their mouths, 
fastened with strings to the bits. The tongue passed 
through the ring, and of course had to stay there. 

I have, myself, had a number of horses which 
"made forces"; and I have tried every sort of bit. 
No bit has been a complete corrective. Yet I have 
cured every case but one, a thoroughbred steeple- 
chaser named "Minstrel," a very powerful animal, 
whose bars were too sharp, and so near together 
that there was insufhcient room for the tongue. 

333 



THE DEFENSES OF THE HORSE 

For this animal, I tried a straight bit, and one cov- 
ered with Hnen. I also tried using the snaffle only. 
But nothing worked. The other horses I continued 
to ride, after giving them flexions on foot. As soon 
as they "made forces," I stopped them and flexed 
again. 

One horse was so stubborn that I was in despair, 
until a gentleman came to see me, riding a horse 
that was "cracking nuts." Hearing the horse clack 
its teeth against one another, gave me the idea of 
training my subject to do the same. Thereafter, 
it stopped "making forces." But, unfortunately, 
cassant la noisette is quite an annoyance, since the 
horse may bite its tongue and rear. Nevertheless, 
the fact remains that if a horse "cracks the nut" 
it cannot "make forces." 

However, in any ordinary case, my advice is to 
remedy the fault of the mouth by flexions of the 
mouth and neck, at first standing still, and after- 
wards at the walk. 

BOLTING AND RUNNING AWAY 

When the forward drive which the horse's hind legs 
give to the entire body, instead of being directed by 
the rider's legs, is under the control of the horse's 
will, it is possible for the animal, impelled by fear, 
to bolt, and to run at full speed against walls or 
other riders, into fire or trains, over precipices. All 
sensibility to the rider's effects has disappeared, 
and only fatigue can reestablish control. 

334 



BOLTING AND RUNNING AWAY 

It Is, therefore, very nearly impossible to stop a 
horse when once the bolt is under way, though it is 
comparatively easy to prevent his entrance into 
the state, except where the habit is already formed 
as the consequence of defective eyesight or the 
memory of pains from over-hard whippings or the 




RUNNING AWAY 



too severe use of sharp spurs. One should, then, 
endeavor to find the reason for the bolting, and 
remove this. This done, the fault will sometimes 
disappear. 

When a horse is bolting, its vertebral column 
from atlas to coupling becomes stiff. The neck is 
rigid. The bit is without effect. It is sometimes 
possible, under these conditions, to release the con- 
traction of the neck by lifting the horse's head, but 
not so high that it cannot see out in front, and saw- 
ing with the snaffle rein. But if the rider feels that 

335 



THE DEFENSES OF THE HORSE 

every sort of control is lost, the only thing for him 
to do is to be very calm, make sure of his seat, and 
separating the reins in his two hands, try to direct 
the animal in its mad speed. When, if it be possible, 
the horse has run enough to tire itself, the rider 
should try to quiet it by his voice, and by sawing 
with the reins, to make it take the trot and finally 
the walk. To stop the horse completely is very 
difficult, the impulsion being still powerful. 

If a rider, himself well mounted, has occasion to 
stop a bolting horse, the best method is to place 
himself at the left side of the line on which the 
animal seems to be running, and to gallop at a good 
speed in the same direction. As the bolting horse 
comes alongside, the rescuer increases his speed, 
and seizing, with his right hand, the reins of the 
frightened creature close up to the mouth, gallops 
for some steps beside it. Having next tested his 
control over his own mount, he tries, by quick jerks 
of his right hand, to reduce the run, first to a gallop, 
then to a trot, and finally to a walk, while with his 
left hand he checks correspondingly his own horse. 
But, of course, any such performance as this in- 
volves circumstances and conditions which it is 
impossible to anticipate in print. 

In order to correct a horse that has bolted several 
times, put it in a large field of newly ploughed 
ground or on a long sandy beach, and run it till it is 
tired. Then make it run again. But though this 
device will work, my counsel is, find the reason for 

336 



SAWING WITH THE SNAFFLE 

the bolting and remove that. The cure will then go 
deeper and be more permanent. 

Running away is not quite the same thing as 
bolting. It is rather the result of the habit of getting 
out of control. The horse bolts because of too se- 
vere correction, defective eyesight, too tight a curb 
chain, too severe jerks upon the mouth, sore bars, 
a sore tooth, a bit set too high and cutting the com- 
missure of the lips, the continual pricking of the 
spurs of a rider without seat. The bolt is repeated, 
until by and by habit and memory suggest the 
possibility of resisting in the same way all demands 
of the rider which are unpleasant to the horse. The 
horse thereupon becomes a runaway. The French 
express this desperate action by prend le mors aux 
dents, s'emporter, and s'emhaller. 

Naturally, the cure for running away is to dis- 
cover the cause of the original bolting from which 
it developed, and to remove that. The scientific 
equitation does not recognize the utility of martin- 
gales and other straps. It depends solely on pro- 
gressive education, holding that, after a horse is 
properly suppled, it is impossible for it to run away 
without giving to its rider the opportunity to pre- 
vent the first sign of revolt, of which the running 
away is the sequel. 

SAWING WITH THE SNAFFLE 

It sometimes happens that a young horse not com- 
pletely trained, or an older animal surprised by a 

337 



THE DEFENSES OF THE HORSE 

sudden sight or sound, or either when it suffers 
from lack of exercise, will escape contact with the 
bit; and so, getting out of control, will travel faster 
than the rider desires, and will refuse to moderate 
its speed at the effects of the bit. Usually in such a 
case, the animal carries its head very low; and if it 
flexes its neck, does this in such wise as to bring the 
chin near the chest, so that the more the rider pulls 
against the bit, the more is the chin drawn against 
the chest. This position prevents the action of the 
bit, and the horse goes faster and faster. 

The only corrective is to saw with the snafffe. 
The rider, without losing any time, abandons the 
reins of the bit, and takes a snaffle rein in each hand, 
holding it quite short. He then raises his hands, and 
pulls forcibly, first on one rein and then on the 
other, until the horse comes once more under his 
control. 

The reason is simple. With its head down and Its 
neck contracted, the animal has the point d'appui 
which makes resistance possible. The rider, by 
Falsing the head, releases the contraction of the 
neck, and thus destroys the center of refusal. The 
feeling on the horse's mouth of the mild effect of 
the snaffle, rapidly repeated, keeps the horse from 
taking the position of resistance. 

It is an equestrian axiom that a horse, in order to 
resist its rider, must begin by contracting unduly 
the neck muscles which are the locomotors of the 
fore hand. The only way to free this contraction is 

338 



HEAD TO HAUNCH 

by sawing with the snaffle. But if the contraction 
of the neck continues, the horse will escape from 
the rider's control, since, in this condition, his effects 
are not sufficiently powerful to decide its conduct. 

HEAD TO HAUNCH 

Tete a queue, as the French call it, is a defense of 
the horse in which the animal bends its spine side- 







THE HEAD TO CROUP 



wise to form a half-circle of its body, and thus bring 
the two ends near together. A horse sometimes 
takes this position when stung on a hind leg by a 
fly. It bends its neck to reach the insect with its 
teeth, and at the same time, to make this easier and 
to shorten the distance, it turns its haunches as far 
as possible to the same side. This, however, is only 
occasional, and is not in any wise a defense. 

339 



THE DEFENSES OF THE HORSE 

As a defense, the horse turns "head to haunches" 
very suddenly; and is likely, therefore, to mix its 
legs, and to fall to the side opposite to that to which 
it turns. In a manege, this need not be especially 
dangerous. But out of doors on a hard road, the re- 
sult may be a serious injury both to rider and horse. 

Evidently, there is some reason for this sudden 
movement of the horse; and it is for the rider to dis- 
cover this and remedy it. Since, then, each individ- 
ual animal has one side or the other to which the 
bend is always made, the corrective is to hold the 
reins in both hands, with the pair on the side away 
from the bend held shorter than the other. Thus, 
if the horse swings head to haunches on the left, the 
right reins are shortened and the rider's right leg is 
brought nearer to the horse's flank. In this posi- 
tion, the rider does not wait for the horse to begin 
its defense. He prevents it at the start by flexing 
sharply the horse's neck to the right and down- 
ward, while with his right leg he pushes the haunches 
to the left. This action turns the horse to the right, 
in the opposite direction to its defense. In making 
this turn to the right, the rider should execute only 
the ordinary change of direction. He should not 
have the horse perform "head and Haunches to the 
right." 

If this work is being done in a manege, the horse 
should always be at the hand opposite to the side 
toward which it makes the defense. If, for example, 
as in the case above, the bend is toward the left, the 

340 



HEAD TO HAUNCH 

riding is done with the right side toward the center 
of the ring. On road, street, bridle path, or track, 
unless one keeps in the middle, the horse may go on 
to the sidewalk and injure a passer-by. But by 
riding at the middle of the road, one keeps himself 
clear of other riders and of carriages which might 
hurt him in case of a fall. 

I have myself tried various correctives for head 
to haunches. None of them have satisfied me. It 
seems to me that the trouble is the result of rheu- 
matic pains in the side of the back, which appear 
from time to time, suddenly. I have observed that 
certain horses which have this failing will go 
straight for days, sometimes for months, and then 
once more, without the slightest provocation, bend 
tete a queue. Possibly we are dealing here with the 
same affection which the doctors call coup de fouet, 
which is a sudden attack of lumbago or something 
similar. Evidently, in such a case, a veterinary's 
care is indicated. 

Where head to haunches is a willful defense, it is 
best to call in the services of a professional rider, 
letting him know to which side the turn is made. 
Some masters advocate using a standing short rein, 
fastened at the stirrup strap, on the side opposite to 
the twist. I am against such a proceeding; be- 
cause, although the fixed rein will undoubtedly pre- 
vent the defense, it will at the same time hinder the 
horse from turning its head to the opposite side for 
the purpose of seeing and avoiding obstacles in the 

341 



THE DEFENSES OF THE HORSE 

road. The sure result is a fall or other accident. 
When I am correcting any defense of a horse, I like 
to be as free as possible and alone with the animal. 

RESTIVENESS 

A RESTIVE horse refuses obedience, but under cer- 
tain conditions and circumstances. The disorder is, 
then, moral; but it is not permanent, nor does it oc- 
cur always for the same reason. 

A restive horse will, for example, carry its rider 
most obediently for a certain distance. And then, 
suddenly, without provocation, will insist on going 
down some other road. It will persist in turning to 
one side, and no effect of rein or spurs will make it 
turn to the other. Or, again, the horse will come to 
a stop with its head in a corner of the manege, and 
no power will make it budge. Yet at another time 
the horse will pass the spot where it was restive be- 
fore without a sign of rebellion. In a word, the 
horse's restiveness is intermittent, so that very 
many horsemen attribute the condition to a state 
of the horse's .own will. 

But while it is entirely reasonable to suppose that 
restiveness in a horse is predominantly a matter of 
will, this volitional state must itself have had a be- 
ginning at some point where the possibility of dis- 
obeying first took root and started to grow into a 
habit. 

Consider the case of a young horse, without 
training, which knows nothing of the meaning of 

342 



RESTIVENESS 

the effects of its rider's hands and legs. The 
trainer, at the beginning of the horse's education, 
asks a movement perfectly^easy to perform. The 
horse fails to understand what is wanted of him, 




PUNISHING A RESTIVE HORSE 

refuses, and is brutally whipped. But the whipping 
does not make him understand anything that he 
did not know before. So he again refuses; and is 
again whipped. Thereupon the trainer passes to 
another movement. But the punishment is en- 
graved on the animal's memory. What is more, 

343 



THE DEFENSES OF THE HORSE 

this procedure has taught the horse that it can re- 
fuse or obey as it pleases. Farther along in its ed- 
ucation, the horse again becomes restive. The 
rider follows the same course as before; and getting 
no better result than before, again passes over the 
movement and takes up another. The horse is con- 
firmed in the idea that it can obey or not obey as it 
chooses. Do we not find exactly the same restive- 
ness in a spoiled child? In the same way, the habit 
of refusal spoils the horse. It becomes capricious. 
When it chooses, it obeys. When it does not choose, 
it disobeys. In short, it is restive. 

Punishment, in such a case, will have no result. 
When the horse feels that the man who happens to 
be riding him is strong enough to fight and compel 
obedience, the horse will obey. But as soon as an- 
other rider is on its back, the horse will again try 
what it can do. 

I have had a great many horses sent me to be 
cured of restiveness, and I have never been unsuc- 
cessful. My only method is to start the training all 
over again frOm the beginning, as if the animal were 
absolutely green. Very soon, I reach the place where 
the education has been slighted. I insist on the 
neglected movement; and confirm the habit of obe- 
dience to the special effects which secure this, until 
the animal has learned to obey without fear of 
punishment. By degrees, he learns that he is 
better off to obey me than to be restive and be 
punished. 

344 



BOUNDING 

The horse's contrariness is now removed. But 
how did it arise in the first place? By the educa- 
tion at the hands of the first trainer, who allowed 
the horse to refuse to execute a movement or submit 
to an effect which it did not understand. If the 
trainer had insisted patiently and gently on the 
horse's learning that troublesome effect, he would, 
at the very beginning, have disposed the horse's 
will in his favor, and instilled the habit of obe- 
dience. But by punishing the horse for not under- 
standing some effect, the trainer has impressed 
upon its will and memory the possibility of success- 
ful revolt. The animal knows that it has had the 
best of the man. 

The error really lies in the haste with which mas- 
ters and public are tr>ang to complete the educa- 
tion of a horse. One who takes a reasonable time 
and follows without hurrying the sequence of the 
training should never have occasion to induce any 
restiveness. Either the horse knows or does not 
know what the man's effects indicate. If it knows 
and refuses, it must be punished. But if it does not 
know, it is to be taught. To educate the horse to 
understand the rider's effects is to make it superior 
to other horses and more intelligent, and is the 
surest means toward success. 

BOUNDING 

A BOUNDING horse springs straight up in the air 
from all four legs, and comes down again on the 

345 



THE DEFENSES OF THE HORSE 

same spot. The movement, therefore, cannot be 
executed if the horse is already in motion. 

A jump of this sort is especially disconcerting to 
an inexperienced rider, since, like any movement 
which does not carry the animal forward, it tends 
to a considerable derangement of the seat. Often- 
times, the bound arises from nothing more than ex- 
uberance of life or lack of exercise; and in this case, 
plenty of hard work will correct the fault. Often, 
on the other hand, the horse bounds in order to free 
himself from the rider's weight. In this case, the 
bounding becomes a defense. 

The rider should, then, study the position taken 
by the horse's head and neck shortly before and 
during the bound. He will observe that the mouth 
has closed and is rigid, and that the neck is 
stretched forward and stiff. The bound itself in- 
volves a contraction of the muscles which lie along 
the spine, and a projection upward of the body by 
the action of the hocks and knees. 

As soon, therefore, as the rider feels by his seat 
that the horse's spine is becoming rigid, he should 
separate the two snaffle reins, and then, by raising 
one hand after the other alternately, quite high, he 
should lift the horse's head, and with it the neck. 
The head and neck, being up, cannot be contracted 
preliminary to the bound. The rider should then 
turn the horse sharply, let us say to the right, by 
the tension of the right rein and the effect of his 
right leg; and immediately afterwards, to the left 

346 



THE BUCK-JUMP 



by the reversed effects. By doing this several times 
alternately, he will make it impossible for the horse 
to place all four feet at the same time on the ground. 
The horse is, therefore, unable to bound; and after 
he has tried several times and failed, he will cease to 
try. 

THE BUCK-JUMP 

A YOUNG horse, not yet wonted to the pressure of 
the girths and the weight of the rider on its back, is 
likely to stiffen its spine, 
and at the same time to 
rear slightly with its front 
legs. In this position, the 
hind legs tend to send the 
body forward. But since 
the spine is everywhere 
rigid, the two hind legs 
cannot function independ- 
ently. Both, therefore, act 
together to throw the croup 
violently up. Thus the 
movement becomes a sort 
of kick, in which, how- 
ever, the hind legs do not extend backward. Follow- 
ing this, the front legs return to the ground reach- 
ing forward. The hind legs follow; and immediately 
the buck-jump is repeated. Meanwhile, the head is 
held low and the neck stiff, in order to resist the 
effect of the rider's hand; since, if the head were up 

347 




THE BUCK-JUMP 



THE DEFENSES OF THE HORSE 

and the mouth and neck relaxed, the spine also 
would be freed, and the buck-jump could not be 
executed. 

Some horses, already trained, when they have 
their girths too tight will buck- jump. But, in gen- 
eral, the movement is consequent to some provoca- 
tion, and employed by the horse as a defense. Not 
infrequently, a horse, having once freed its back 
from its rider's weight, will continue to practice 
this defense until it develops the habit. 

Whether the buck-jump be sporadic or the re- 
sult of a fixed habit, the reason is always the same 
— the horse refuses to go forward. It makes no 
difference what the reason is, whether the girths 
are too tight or whether the weight of the rider is 
greater than that to which the horse is accustomed, 
the result is the same. 

The remedy is to see that the girths are not too 
tight, and to accustom the horse to the rider's 
weight. But when the horse begins the defense, the 
rider should at once lift its head as high as possible. 
In this position the horse can raise its front legs, 
but not its hind ones, which remain on the ground. 
If, then, the rider is sufficiently sure of himself, he 
should make the horse back. This will prevent 
the rigidity of the coupling, and the hind legs will 
act in alternation. The result will be the walk or 
the trot, but not the buck-jump. 

The effect of too tight a girth is to inhibit the ac- 
tion of the great pectoral muscles, so that these do 

348 



THE HORSE WHICH BURIES ITSELF 

not draw the hind legs forward as the front legs are 
extended. From these, the stiffness is commu- 
nicated to the ilio-spinalis, which, stimulated by the 
weight of the rider, contracts and paralyzes the 
articulation of the coupling. This, in its turn, pre- 
vents the separate action of the hind legs. These, as 
a result, act together to raise the hind hand, ex- 
tended and stiff. 

The remedy, therefore, is to keep the horse mov- 
ing his legs alternately, and so moving forward. If all 
four limbs are acting to send the body forward, all 
rearing and kicking are impossible. But if the 
animal is allowed to stop, then any action of its legs 
is open to it, and it can lie down as easily as it can 
buck- jump. 

THE HORSE WHICH BURIES ITSELF 

Some horses are by nature restive and violent, so 
that they do not respond to kindness until after 
they have been tamed by energetic treatment. This 
native excess of bad temper leads such animals to 
try every means of escape from the rider's domina- 
tion; and before they finally submit, they some- 
times, as a last effort, set their four limbs im- 
movably so that no sort of persuasion can make 
them stir. S'enterrer and sHmmobiliser are names 
for this action, which I have translated as "bury 
itself." 

When a horse thus buries itself, the only correc- 
tive is to apply the whip on the flanks during the 

349 



THE DEFENSES OF THE HORSE 

time when the horse is set. Do not employ legs or 
spurs, since the effect of these is to make some 
horses He down in a sort of frenzy. Avoid also any 
caressing of the animal during the time when it is 
rigid. If both rider and horse are in a safe situation, 
and if the failing is only occasional and not a formed 
habit, remain perfectly calm, and keep the animal, 
or, more correctly, permit him to be, completely 
free. Very soon he will become exhausted by the 
tension, will relax, and move forward. The power- 
ful spasm of the horse's nerves and muscles is much 
like that of a man made temporarily insane by ex- 
cess of alcohol. If, then, the horse is left to itself, 
very soon it is sufficiently punished, and as soon as 
its strength gives out, it will relax. 

When, however, a horse continues to repeat the 
act of burying itself, it is better to consult a vet- 
erinarian and have a careful examination of the 
heart. The horse's heart is susceptible to disease, 
trouble, failure; and the rider should know the 
situation before he exposes himself to accident from 
some abnormal condition. 

PREPARING FOR DEFENSE 

Preparing for defense is the action which a horse 
takes as a preliminary to entering upon the state of 
non-submission, revolt, and refusal. 

This first act of rebellion is very easy to detect. 
The animal escapes the contact of the bit. It keeps 
its mouth closed, holds its neck rigid and usually 

350 



PREPARING FOR DEFENSE 

extends It forward, while by carr^- ing the head low, 
it neutralizes the effects of the bridle. The hind 
legs are not together, but one of them is too much 
under the body while the other is extended too far 
to the rear and does not support its share of the 
weight. Commonly, the horse stops of its own will, 
and refuses to advance or to change its position at 
the ordinary effects. The rider feels as if he were 
mounted upon an unsteady wooden horse. 

Sometimes this condition of fear or stupor is the 
result of defective eyesight, and is brought about 
by the sensation of some object the effect of which 
has spread from the brain to the entire body. The 
sound of a locomotive or of an automobile some- 
times, though not often, has a like effect. In the 
first instance, the correction is through the treat- 
ment of the horse's eyes by a veterinary. In the 
second, the procedure is to accustom the horse 
to the noise and to build up its confidence in its 
rider. 

But where the state is the result of an evil will 
and the desire to refuse obedience, the corrective Is, 
without loss of time, to separate the reins into the 
two hands, and with right hand and right leg, or 
vice versa, force the horse to turn round and round 
in a vei*y small circle. 

The horse, thereupon, from fear of falling, will 
move its legs and relax all its body. After this treat- 
ment, it will remember the result of its rebellion 
and will very seldom repeat the offense. 

351 



THE DEFENSES OF THE HORSE 




L ACCULER 

Vacculer has no English equivalent. It means the 
position taken by the horse's rear limbs when the 

animal, refusing to go for- 
ward at the effects of the 
rider's legs, throws too much 
of the weight on its hind feet. 
This position of the horse 
is the basis of all its de- 
fenses. For when the center 
of gravity is too far back, 
it then becomes possible 
for the animal to rear up, 
to kick, or to plant itself 
A RESTIVE HORSE IN THE immovably on its fore legs 

'crEo'^ACcTHH" !^"d -f"- to advance. It 

is easy to understand that, 
with the center of gravity too far back, the 
hind legs are so overloaded with the weight that 
they are no longer ready for the impulsion forward. 
In order to prevent the horse from taking this posi- 
tion, the rider's legs should always, and in all cir- 
cumstances, in sending the horse forward, act in 
advance of his hands. Moreover, this action of the 
rider's legs should continue from the time when the 
forward movement is first obtained, until the horse 
is perfectly light in hand and all contractions have 
disappeared. By obtaining this lightness, the rider 
makes sure that his mount is not accule. But a 

352 



REARING 

horse that advances at the effects of the rider's legs, 
giving to the hand of the rider the contact upon the 
bit, is never accule. 



REARING 

A HORSE, in rearing, shifts the entire weight to the 
hind hand, brings its hind legs forward under its 
body, and raises its fore hand 
very high in the air, either 
bending its fore legs at the 
knees or extending them very 
high and pawing the air. Al- 
together it is the most danger- 
ous defense of the horse when 
habitual, and bad enough when 
only sporadic. In either case, 
the animal becomes quite im- 
possible for a woman rider. 

Rearing may be the result of 
several causes. The principal 
ones are: sudden fear; bad eye- 
sight; weakness in the hind 
legs or loins; pains within the 
abdomen or in the region of the sacrum, pelvis, or 
pubis; too tight a curb chain; a too severe hand; 
saccades against the bars; abuse of means and ef- 
fects ; the physical confusion which results from too 
rapid progress with the training. Sometimes, too, 
especially at certain ages, the teeth are growing or 
are being lost, and the gums are sore. Besides 

353 




REARING 



THE DEFENSES OF THE HORSE 

these, there are the moral causes, defects of temper, 
violence, nervousness, a restive nature. 

If the rearing is the result of. sore gums or defec- 
tive eyesight or of weakness in the muscles of the 
loins, the remedy is treatment of the eyes and 
mouth by a veterinarian or progressive education 
at the hands of a trainer to develop the weak spot. 
If the bars are the cause, the corrective is a bit with 
a large port and small branches, with flexions of 
the mouth and neck, done first on foot and then 
mounted. For such other causes as saccades, im- 
proper bitting, a heavy hand, the remedy is to let 
the animal lose the memory of the pains inflicted 
on him, and thereafter to use hands and legs with 
more moderation. 

But the rider should always remember that, 
whether the cause be physical or moral, the horse 
is able to rear only if the alternate action of the 
hind legs is arrested for a sufficient time for the 
animal to bring both hind feet forw^ard under the 
body. These, therefore, acting as supports, are able 
to bear the entire weight. A horse cannot rear on 
one hind leg alone. But if one hind foot is brought 
forward and held there until the other comes for- 
ward beside it, then the rearing becomes possible. 

Consequently, the best preventive against rear- 
ing is not to allow either hind foot to remain in the 
forward position, but to keep them both continu- 
ally in motion, from the moment when the rider 
feels the first tendency to stop. But when the rider 

354 



REARING 

feels that the effects of his legs, used together or 
separately, are not going to prevent the horse from 
stopping, he should, as quickly as possible, take his 
feet from the stirrups, lean his body forward and to 
one side close to the horse's mane, and loosen the 
reins. In this position, if the horse has not yet com- 
menced to rear, it is still possible to carry it forward, 
or at least to keep the hind legs moving. But after 
the horse is fairly in the air, it is dangerous for the 
rider to employ both legs together. Nevertheless, 
he may be able, by using one of his legs after the 
other, to force the horse to bring its fore feet back 
to the ground. If, however, the rider feels that the 
horse, not merely rearing, but already reared, is 
likely to fall backward, he should rest one hand on 
the pommel of the saddle, pass one of his legs over 
the horse's croup, and helping himself with his 
hand, should slip to the ground, alighting upright 
on his feet, always of course at the side of the ani- 
mal, never behind. 

The various tricks of spurring, whipping, break- 
ing a bottle of water on the horse's occiput between 
the ears, are not practicable, although advocated by 
certain masters. 

Rearing is dangerous only if the horse actually 
does fall backward. But although the horse may, 
for various different reasons, be willing to rear as a 
defense or for simple restiveness, it will not volun- 
tarily fall. If, then, the horse does topple over, this 
is alwa^'s because it has not the strength to carry 

355 



THE DEFENSES OF THE HORSE 

its weight aloft on its hind legs. Since the best 
remedy is to carry the horse forward, it is correct 
in doing this to use legs, spurs, and whip. But these 
are not a corrective after the horse has already 
reared. 

A horse which takes frankly the contact of the 
bit will, if the rider's hand is intelligent, very sel- 
dom try to rear. But, naturally, this contact can- 
not be obtained without the effects of the rider's 
legs to give the impulse forward. If, then, the 
rider's legs are able to send the horse forward, so 
long as the horse is under the control of their ef- 
fects it cannot stop and cannot attempt to rear. 

KICKING 

In executing the kick, the horse stops its forward 
motion, plants its fore legs hrmly on the ground, 
and using these as a point of support, sends both 
its hind legs backward and up. This true kick 
should not be confused with the kick with one hind 
leg only, which is called in French made. In the 
made, the horse is trying to reach some object with 
the purpose of damaging it. A kick out with both 
feet may, of course, injure anything that is near 
enough to be touched; but it is seldom that a horse 
of good temper will actually try to hit a man in this 
way. This does not, however, hold for another horse; 
so that, if one animal approaches too near the hind 
quarters of another, the second is likely to deliver 
either a kick in the proper sense or a made. This is 

356 



KICKING 

instinctive, and is the animal's method of protect- 
ing itself from other creatures. 

But although the kick is considered a defense of 
the horse, and indeed is so when it involves the 




KICKING 



refusal to move forward, it is not in the least dan- 
gerous. For a rider with an accurate seat, it is like 
a wave to a sailboat. It does, however, sometimes 
make trouble for young riders, if they let the horse 
repeat the kick too often, until it becomes a habit, 
called forth by the slightest annoyance or provoca- 
tion. In this case, it does become a defense. 

We here are concerned with the horse which kicks 
when mounted, and uses this action to resist our 
means of control. This may result from weakness, 

357 



THE DEFENSES OF THE HORSE 

or from exuberance of energy, or from the stings of 
bees and the bites of green flies. 

If, in summer and fall, a horse kicks when an- 
noyed by insects, the best remedy is a switch of 
horsehair carried in place of a whip. If it is weak in 
the loins, time and progressive exercise will give it 
strength. Then, after the horse has become strong, 
the fault can be corrected. But if the horse kicks 
because it does not understand the meaning of our 
legs and spurs, it has to be taught. When it under- 
stands, it will no longer kick. Where kicking is the 
consequence of too much exuberance of life, a good 
trot or gallop upon a field, repeated with wisdom 
and moderation, will work a cure. 

In any case, however, the best immediate remedy 
is to keep the fore legs in motion. Unless the fore 
legs stop, they cannot receive the entire weight, 
and the hind feet must remain on the ground to act 
as supports. Moreover, since, in order to kick, the 
horse has not only to put all its weight on its fore 
legs, but in addition must drop its head very low 
and near its fore feet, raising the head high is also a 
corrective. There is, besides, a shifting forward of 
the center of gravity as the weight is thrown on to 
the fore legs, and the head and neck go forward and 
down. If, therefore, as the rider promptly lifts the 
horse's head by means of the snaffle, he also leans 
far back in his saddle, he will put a greater load on 
the croup, and thus force the hind legs to continue 
their support. 

358 



KICKING 

It often happens, however, that a horse, while 
not actually kicking, is, as the French say, crou- 
pioner, an expression which, though not correct 
French, is the usual word among horsemen. 

In this state, at the least touch of legs, spurs, or 
whip, or even at the approach of another horse, the 
animal checks the action of its fore legs, flexes 
its coupling downward, lifts its croup with bcjth 
hind legs, and makes ready to shoot out its feet 
behind. 

The condition affects some mares at certain sea- 
sons of the year, on account of a too great sensibility 
of the muscles of the loins and more or less of the 
kidneys. It may occur in any animal from the 
memory of soreness occasioned by a badly adjusted 
saddle, or by too hea\y a weight, which has over- 
worked the loin muscles. In a great many instances, 
however, the annoying habit results from nothing 
more than the inexperience of the rider, who has 
employed his spurs without understanding their 
proper use, and because of the instability of his 
seat and his want of control over his legs, is always 
tickling his horse's flanks. Or the trouble may arise 
simply from improper attacks of the spurs, made 
too early in the training or without accuracy and 
decision. 

The horse which is croupioner, though annoying 
enough, is not dangerous except to riders who come 
too near. He is, however, undecided and unwill- 
ing to carry himself forward strongly. Mares are 

359 



THE DEFENSES OF THE HORSE 

often cured under a veterinarian's advice. For both 
horses and mares, where the trouble arises from 
proper accuracy and decision in the attacks, these 
should be repeated and carried through. But if the 
horse has simply been provoked by spurs used 
without reason, the cure is for the rider either to sit 
still in his saddle, or else to take off the spurs which 
have become a razor in the hands of a monkey. 
Some good exercising at an energetic walk, trot, 
and gallop will also help to make the horse go for- 
ward more determinedly. 

JUMPING TO ONE SIDE 

"To jump to one side" seems to be the only pos- 
sible translation into English of ecart, which the 
Duke of Newcastle uses for the action of a horse 
which makes a sidewise leap away from an object 
which it fears. 

The Duke advises, in dealing with an animal 
which acts in this way, that the rider shall be always 
attentive, never neglecting the accuracy and cor- 
rectness of his seat, so as not to be caught by any 
movement, however sudden and unexpected. This 
grand master recommends gentleness at first, let- 
ting the horse come near the object, see, smell, and 
touch it. But if, after the horse has done this, it 
again jumps away from the same object, then he 
recommends punishing the horse so severely that 
the memory of the pain shall be afterwards stronger 
than the fear; and he quotes Hippocrates, "To 

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KICKING 

destroy one pain, it is rational to inflict another 
more severe." 

It is, nevertheless, to be noted that the same 
grand master, after setting forth this theory, goes 
on to say that his own experience proves that, after 
a horse has been forced by severe correction to ap- 
proach the particular object which was the cause 
of the initial fear, it will shortly commit the same 
ecart for another object. This, in turn, having been 
corrected by the same procedure, the horse finds, in 
still another object, the reason for still another 
ecart; and so on for any number without limit. The 
Duke's theory is interesting and his experience 
practical. But as instruction for other riders, he 
leaves a good deal to be desired. 

For the fact is, a young horse, not yet sufficiently 
educated, may, from mere gayety and exuberance, 
be surprised by the sight of some object, which, 
though quite harmless, is not familiar. The animal, 
therefore, fearing physical pain, at once jumps aside. 
It is a simple matter for a rider to accustom his 
honse to any particular object; and then to observe 
whether the ecart occurs with one object only, or is 
produced by several objects of different appearance. 
If the trouble is simply youth and a too exuberant 
life, the rational corrective is to have patience, to 
inspire confidence in the horse, and in the mean- 
time to increase the amount of exercise. But if the 
horse commits the fault for different objects, and 
for objects which it has before passed without shy- 

361 



THE DEFENSES OF THE HORSE 

ing, then the true remedy is to call in an ocuHst and 
have him examine carefully the horse's eyes. If 
the eyesight is at fault, veterinary science will ef- 
fect the cure, if any cure is possible. Otherwise, 
nothing can be done. Such an animal can still be 
used by a young and firm-seated rider who will 
enjoy, more or less, the eccentricities of his mount. 
But it is no horse for a timid person, still less for a 
woman. 



APPENDIX 

REPORT OF A COMMISSION OF THREE OFFICERS 

OF THE UNITED STATES ARMY ON 

THE DE BUSSIGNY SYSTEM 



APPENDIX 

REPORT OF A COMMISSION OF THREE OFFICERS 

OF THE UNITED STATES ARMY ON 

THE DE BUSSIGNY SYSTEM 

[Copy of 1705 B. W. D. 1888] 
Proceedings of the Board of Officers convened at Boston, 
Massachusetts, by virtue of the following order. 

Special Orders Headquarters of the Army, 

No. 44. Adjutant-General's Office, 

Washington, February 24, 1888. 

Extract. 
13. A Board of Officers, to consist of 

Capt. John R. Brinckle, 5th Artillery, 
Capt. Henry W. Lawton, 4th Cavalry, 
Capt. George S. Anderson, 6th Cavalry, 
will convene at Boston, Massachusetts, on March 5, 1888, 
for the purpose of examining into and reporting upon Mr. 
de Bussigny's method of horse training, treatment, and 
management. 

The report of the Board will be forwarded to the Adjutant- 
General of the Army for the Lieutenant-General. 

On the completion of their duties, the members of the 
Board will return to their proper stations. 

The travel enjoined is necessary for the public service. 
By command of Lieutenant-General Sheridan: 

R. C, Drum, 

Ad j utan t-General . 

Boston, Mass., March i^th, 1888. 
The members of the Board assembled at Young's Hotel 
at about 10 a.m. on March 5th, and proceeded to the riding- 

365 



APPENDIX 

academy of Mr. Henry L, de Bussigny, . . . and asked him 
for both oral and practical demonstration of his methods. 

Owing to the presence of Mr. de Bussigny's riding-classes, 
the Board could not get more than two or three hours per 
day of his time; and on Saturday, the loth, he was too much 
occupied to give us any session. The Board has held meet- 
ings of three hours each day but that Saturday to this date. 

Owing to the very limited knowledge of English of Mr. 
de Bussigny, and the difhculty with which he expressed him- 
self, the members of the Board were troubled to understand 
him. . . . He presented papers to the Board, which satisfied 
the members that he had been a lieutenant of French cav- 
alry. He also claims (and the Board believes him) to be a 
pupil of Baucher and Raabe, and to have been a close stu- 
dent of horsemanship for over forty years. 

He is certainly a most able horseman. 

At his own suggestion, he explained his system by answers 
to the following questions: 

1st question. Who is the founder of the system? 

A. It was founded by myself after a careful study of all 
the books published on equestrianism, and after over forty 
years' practical work in the field. It was eclectic and thor- 
oughly practical. He took as types the systems of Baucher 
and Count d'Aure. The former, he explained, had a good 
system for the training of circus horses, but it was too elabo- 
rate and thoroughly unfitted for the military service. 

The latter based his system on a severe military discipline, 
but evolved it from a very limited experience. A thorough 
horseman must know his horse intimately and adapt the 
treatment to the temperament of the animal. 

Q. 2. In what countries and in what campaigns has the 
author applied this system? 

A. The system is a matter of growth with him, but he 
began it in the cavalry service at the battle of Solferino; has 
seen service in Mexico, during Maximilian's occupation ; also 

366 



APPENDIX 

in Algeria, Morocco, and Syria, and in France in the war of 
1870. In all of these he has insisted on the individuality of 
the horse and rider joined — that reconnaissance work 
vshould be one by individual horsemen rather than by pla- 
toons or squadrons. The seat is the cavalry soldier's true 
capital, and only when that is perfect is the combination 
(man-horse) valuable in war. Mr. de Bussigny's squadron 
had its flag decorated on account of its promptness, energy, 
and bravery at Pablo del Monte in Mexico. In France, in 
1870, he had six hundred green horses ridden by six hundred 
green men in a hard campaign, and he had hardly a single 
sore back or lame horse. 

He enlarged on the effect of the rider's nervousness on the 
horse; no matter whether this nerv^ousness came from em- 
barrassment, fright, or want of knowledge what to do, it was 
immediately communicated to the horse. If he rode a horse 
without a thought or care as to his management, the rider 
was left free to devote all his thoughts and faculties to the 
business at hand. 

Q. 3. In what does the theory of the system consist? 

A. It is based on the individuality to be given to each 
horseman, and by its simplicity gives that horseman the 
possibility of being the trainer of his own animal. The horse 
is no longer restive; does not want to go wrong; he is con- 
trolled by the rider's legs and by them he is impelled for- 
ward. 

He is sustained and directed by his bridle. The two legs of 
the rider producing an equal effect will equally impel the 
horse forward. By the bridle, he will be equally sustained 
and directed, and the motion will necessarily be straight to 
the front. The impulsion forward given to the horse by the 
two legs of the rider, being increased by one of the legs 
without relaxing the effect of the opposite leg, will determine 
the horse to turn to the right or the left. If the pressure of 
the legs is equal, and the horse equally sustained by the 

367 



APPENDIX 

bridle, he will have his spine straight, and consequently be 
able to carry weight, to regulate his gait, and be less fatigued, 
and consequently less subject to lameness and sickness. If 
the impulse given by the legs be decreased, and the sustain- 
ing effect of the bridle increased, the horse will diminish or 
stop his motion forward. The effect of the legs and bridle 
being applied to the horse, and the effect of the bridle then 
increased, the impulsion of the horse will be backward. The 
horse being stopped, a quick increase of effect of the left leg 
of the rider, without relaxing the effect of the right leg, will 
determine a quick answer of the left hind leg of the horse. 
The immediate raising of the hand of the rider will raise the 
fore hand of the horse, and as it is impossible for him to 
sustain the weight of his body on his left hind leg only, the 
opposite (right) will come immediately to sustain and assist 
the impulsion. The cessation of the effect of the hand will 
allow the fore hand to return immediately to the ground, 
and the gallop will be determined to the left. In this system 
there is no change of position of the rider. He leans neither 
forward nor backward; consequently, there is no unusual 
strain on the horse, and a perfect seat is kept at all times. 
The charge is only an extension of the gallop. 

The leap is accomplished by increasing the effect of both 
hand and legs at the same time instant, and then diminishing 
them simultaneously, afterwards sustaining the horse by a 
renewal of both. - 

Q. 4. What is the practicability of applying this system 
to the Army? 

A. It is very essential to have a system that is uniform, 
and one that will combine all that is necessary in the fewest 
possible movements. To this end he has reduced them to 
three simple ones. First, to go forward; second, to go back- 
ward; and third, to turn to the right or to the left. Baucher 
used fifteen, most of which were unnecessary and impractical ; 
as Mr. de Bussigny has simplified it, it is within the compre- 

368 



APPENDIX 

hension and ability of any soldier, and must make a good, if 
not a perfect horseman of him. 

Q. 5. What was the result of the practical work before 
the Board? 

This question he left the Board to answer. All of this 
work was that of a master, whether he used old and thor- 
oughly broken horses, trained, or new and unbroken ani- 
mals. With his own horse he showed all the gaits and mo- 
tions of the circus rider; made him walk, trot, and gallop in 
place and backward. In short, he showed him a thoroughly 
trained animal. New animals that he had never ridden be- 
fore were got under control immediately, and gaited to his 
taste. The Board is convinced that few men are capable of 
arriving at the degree of perfection attained by Mr. de 
Bussigny, but it believes that the system is the best of any 
known to the Board, and that it can be applied to the Army 
in general with great benefit. The system was most satis- 
factorily illustrated to the Board by some of Mr. de .Bus- 
signy 's pupils. The only system of treatment that Mr. de 
Bussigny used or desired to explain was one for horses 
broken down and not diseased, or those having deficient 
muscles. His entire system consists in determining exactly 
what muscles needed increasing, diminishing, or treating, 
and then by proper gymnastic exercises correcting the defect. 
Several horses under treatment were shown and the results 
to be obtained were explained. The methods were certainly 
ingenious, and would probably be attended with success, 
but the Board did not remain long enough to witness any 
thorough accomplishment of his purpose. Mr. de Bussigny's 
only idea is to strengthen and develop the weakened or 
stiffened parts by a system of flexions and exercises, and by 
throwing out of use parts too highly developed, to partially 
paralyze them. 

The subject of management is entirely considered in the 
preceding resume, and may be described in a word as one of 

369 



APPENDIX 

gentleness, kindness, and careful training. His sj'stem is 
entirely unwritten and difficult to explain. He makes no 
claims for the handling of vicious or diseased horses other 
than as indicated. 

The Board, believing that nothing further could be ac- 
complished without extensive personal practice in this sys- 
tem, adjourned March 15th. 

J. R, Brinckle, 

Capt. 5th Artillery, President. 
H. W. Lawton, 

Capt. 4th Cavalry, Member. 
George S. Anderson, 

Capt. 6th Cavalry, Recorder. 

{Endorsement) 

Headquarters of the ARjrv, 

March 29, 1888- 

Respectfully submitted to the Secretary of War. 

The report of this Board shows that Mr. de Bussigny's 
methods could be best employed if understood by officers. 
I know of no place where they could be carried into effect 
except at the Military Academy, where instruction in riding 
and horse management is now given to cadets who subse- 
quently become commissioned officers, and I therefore rec- 
ommend that his. services be obtained for that post. 
P. H. Sheridan, 

Lieutenant-General, Commanding. 



